My Little Deathnote: A Different Light
by Shadesque
Summary: A thousand years after the Princesses' "deaths". Reincarnation occurs, and highschool filly Twilight Sparkle chances upon a book owned by Death God Celestia; she becomes hunted by Detective L, who isn't who she appears to be...Twilight and Luna centric.
1. Chapter 1

**READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE FIRST! VERY IMPORTANT!**

**Hey, ! This is one of my first MLP: FIM multichapter fics (A request from a very good friend) that has actually made it to my account without me deleting it in frustration (Writer's block. Always gets me in the end). I figured this had to be done. *Fanfare* I don't know if this is a first, but this better be. This is essentially the storyline of Deathnote, set in the MLP: FIM universe. For those who KNOW how Deathnote ends and don't want to read because you KNOW how it all ends, READ. I WILL have an alternate storyline that splits off somewhere, the early chapters will just be copied from the series, just with A LOT more pony. ENJOY! Oh, and Deathnote fans, before new chapters are up, leave your suggestions (and reviews) for which ponies should take the place of the characters you know and love, and what you liked about this fic. Thanks! AND NO FLAMES! PLEASE! I'M JUST A KID! I just moved to New Zealand from Singapore too…Friendless and girl-friendless (we broke up)…Life can be a bitch sometimes.**

**Main Characters Revealed SO Far:**

**Twilight Sparkle as…Light Yagami**

**Princess Celestia as…Ryuk**

**AND FOR A SNEAK PEEK…**

**Princess Luna as…a main character that will be shown at the Chapter 1 sneak peek at the end of the prologue.**

**Guest starring as Death Gods...Sephiroth and Genesis Rhapsodos (As Alicorns) From Final Fantasy VII **

**TWILESTIA!TWILUNA!TWILESTIA!TWILUNA!LUNESTIA!**

My Little Deathnote: A Different Light

Prologue-Deathnote

This world is…rotten. Crime rates are at an all-time high. There's the weekly rape or murder victim, and the occasional mare running after some colt in a ski mask holding a purse. Funeral parlors are booked more often and more frequently than wedding halls or party function rooms. The Equestria Daily paper's wanted list is now filled to burst, and they had to expand it to another two pages. Little foals in the streets don't smile anymore, and their mothers and fathers lead them harshly by the hoof, tight-lipped and afraid, guns strapped to their saddlebags to use in self-defence.

This world is rotten.

"Twilight Sparkle!"

Twilight snapped out of her daze. The sun was setting, and Twilight estimated her teacher was calling her name for the third or fourth time, judging by the volume and exact tone of her voice.

"Yes, Miss Cherilee?"

Her teacher straightened her glasses, looking a bit ruffled by how calm her student was. Then again, Twilight was always calm.

"Please translate Paragraph 3 of the page we are currently on into Dragonese."

As expected, she gave an excellent translation, dictated in a clear and loud voice that showed no sign of self-doubt or restraint, of course with all syllables correctly pronounced, even with the tricky tongue-clicks and accents of the traditional Dragon language.

And then it happened.

It seemed to fall in slow motion, the black object, fluttering like some bizarre insect in the early evening breeze. Twilight watched it out of the corner of her eye, as it continued its descent, and she could swear she could hear, if humanly, or rather, ponily possible, the unidentified object hit the ground with a thud that shouldn't have been audible three stories up the school building. And yet, no-one seemed to notice.

"Class dismissed!"

The classroom broke out in a ruckus of cheering and swearing (from the colts who thought swearing was a valid sub-group of cheering), all of them too glad to leave their place of education. It wasn't that Twilight was a nerd, or that she loved school. It was the exact opposite, actually. Twilight was an ace student, topping her school and possibly the whole of Manehattan's high school population after moving there from Canterlot. She played sports actively, her skill at controlling and using her magic was impeccable for her tender age of seventeen. Many had asked her out and failed miserably. She wasn't stuck up-she just had strict ideals for her own life, and as a result, although a role model for mares across her cohort, and a dream girl for many stallions, she led a fairly antisocial lifestyle.

Why?

Because she thought the world was rotten.

Criminals ran rampant in Manehattan's greasy and rubbish-strewn streets, putting the ponyfolk in constant danger. The world wasn't a happy place anymore, even in the once pristine Canterlot, now held by a despot and corrupt President. The sins of humanity-wanton lust, boundless greed and an endless torrent of hate had already tainted the land and its inhabitants, and their insidious tendrils wrap around eyes and ears, and turn everypony blind and deaf to the cries of the innocent.

Twilight stepped out into the sun, which was now spreading its golden splendor across the sky, now milky pink with streaks of daffodil and honey, and the inevitable night with its cape of uncountable stars and innumerable galaxies awaiting its turn, now just a blotch of blue at the furthest edges of the horizon.

"Hey, Light! Wanna go to the arcade with us?"

Temporarily blinded by the Sun and irritable, she replied with a quick and curt "No, thanks," and headed off. But just as she clipped-clopped away, a nagging sensation at the back of her mind told her to turn around, and there she saw it, the object she had seen from the window. Now that it had piqued her interest, there was no turning back. It was rectangular when she caught sight of it outside the window, but it seemed too heavy.

A dead bird, perhaps?

Twilight felt her fur stand on end once she entered the shaded part of the school, whether it was because of the Sun warming her previously or whether it was the thick notebook that lay in front of her, the words "DEATH NOTE" written in spindly silver letters on its cover. Picking it up magically, she read the first page.

Death Note

How To Use It

This NOTE can only be used by an equine, and once this book has been touched by your magic or skin, it is now yours to keep,

Whoever's name is written in this NOTE shall die.

For a person whose name is written in this NOTE to die.

One must have the individual's face in mind when writing their name. This prevents individuals who share a name to be killed. Just a first name or one surname is needed to kill.

After writing a name, if the cause and time of death is not specified, the individual whose name is written in this NOTE will die in 40 seconds of a heart attack. If the time and cause of death are included, another 6 minutes and 40 seconds are granted to do so

Any piece of the NOTE can function as well as the whole.

Twilight tossed the book back onto the ground. This time, it sounded like just any ordinary book.

"Some ponies are just warped," She said, shaking her head and stalking off.

Sand blew across the arid wasteland that was Nothingness, despite there being no breeze to carry it. In a cave, two figures huddled around a skull, cracked open in the centre to form a bowl of sorts. An almost pure silver alicorn with a long, flowing mane and tail cursed when the dice they were playing with ended up showing two fours when magically thrown. He flapped his solitary black wing indignantly.

"Genesis, can we play another game? I tire of this."

His playing partner, a blazing red alicorn with auburn locks wearing a long leather coat to match his fur snorted and hit his friend over the head with his sole grey wing that protruded in a hole in his clothing, which was comparable in size.

"We're stuck here for eternity, Sephiroth. We might as well think of something."

Sephiroth straightened his mussed-up mane by tossing his head from left to right.

"I WHIP MY MANE BACK AND FORTH, I WHIP MY MANE BACK AND FORTH, I-"

"If you dare sing that terrible Earth song again I'll give the Nothingness the pleasure of having one less Death God, Crapsodos."

Genesis stuck his tongue out at Sephiroth, and made a rude gesture with his hoof. Craning his neck upwards, he stared at the lone figure sitting on a grey sandy knoll devoid of any plant life, her rainbow mane flowing through the air, impossibly.

"Celestia, you going to join us?"

The white alicorn mare stood up to her full, respectable height, about as tall as three times your average pony.

"You boys have fun. I'm bored, and I dropped my notebook into the mortal realm. The extra one."

Genesis raised an eyebrow.

"You managed to sneak another one past the Death King? Now that's something."

"Pfft," Celestia said, stretching her back out.

"He's not as smart as he thinks he is. Some omnipotent god he's supposed to be, can't even tell if I _sort of stole_ an extra notebook. Oh, well, this could be interesting,"

Waving a hoof in goodbye, Celestia set off for the Portal.

Yes…yes…this could be very interesting.

**SNEAK PEEK FOR CHAPTER 1 (Which will be 20% cooler and ten times longer)**

**Luna sat in front of her computer. Everything was ready. Brushing her long, lustrous but slightly unkempt mane away from her tired eyes, she put on the headset, and checked the voice filter to see if it was working.**

**Taking a bite out of the chocolate bar she was munching, she began the transmission, which would be broadcast through a laptop Blue was holding.**

"**Hello, international and Equestrian comrades. I am L."**

**Author's Notes: Yes…Luna would make a _COMPLETELY ADORABLE_ L. Can't wait Oh, and more Sephiroth and Genesis backstory, like how they ended up there and how _did_ them react to Celly. FORESHADOWING… **

"_**Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess."**_

**-Loveless, Act One**

Chapter 1-Kira

The railway bell sounded as the train sped past, sending up a fine cloud of dust into the air. Twilight Sparkle plodded across the tracks once the crossed striped safety gates had been raised. In her saddlebag, rested an all too familiar black notebook.

"_What can I say? I guess I'm pretty warped too."_

"Mom, I'm home!"

Twilight promptly undressed and made her way upstairs for a shower.

"Twilight, I think you're forgetting something, dear."

Twilight paused, her hoof in midair above a step. Her horn glowed iridescent pink, and a laminated piece of paper with the school seal found its way to her mother, where she gasped in mock, overexaggerated shock.

"Top of the level again, Light? Well done! Spike, come and see this. Twilight got her report back!"

The purple baby dragon didn't come out of his room, just yelled something muffled that went along the lines of "Good job" and "Nerd", and resumed murdering whatever he was eating.

"Oh, and Twilight?"

"Yes, Mother?"

Twilight found another piece of paper floating through the air, except towards her.

"I do hope that's a blank check."

Her mother laughed, a heartwarming and pleasant noise amid the mechanical whirring of the ceiling fan and the white noise from the television and Spike's room.

"It's a shopping list, dearest. Before we have your celebratory dinner, I need these extra ingredients from the convenience shop across the street to make something extra-special."

Shrugging, Twilight retraced her footsteps to the door and put her saddlebags back on, and headed out into the late evening, where the crescent moon basked in the darkening sky.

"_I can sense it. My notebook is near."_

Celestia wove in and out of the crowd, phasing through some ponies, even. Of course, being a Death God nopony could see or hear Celestia. Her violet eyes, deep, all-perceiving and hypnotizing, darted back and forth at an incredible pace, seeking out her target. The commuter-congested shopping street soon widened out into a sleepy suburban area where neat rows of two-storey houses with perfect lawns and lines and lines of identical yellow streetlamps lowing eerily in the semi-gloom of the new evening, complete with a medium-sized convenience store in the centre. One could call this a modern utopia.

But Celestia (And Twilight) knew better.

The god's vision stayed several tens of feet ahead of her phantom form, scouting for the user of the Deathnote. She saw, and heard everything. And then she zeroed in on a young teenage unicorn filly, with a purple coat and a neat navy mane, with two stripes of varying shades of pink streaked through it. She bore a cutie mark of a burst of magic. And the hate and disgust concealed in her level gaze was greatly evident, especially to a Death God's all-perceiving eyes.

"_**I've found you." **_

"_Daisy juice…check, Apples…check, Apple-flavored con-Oh, very funny, Spike. Let me put those back…"_

Twilight placed the obscene item back on the shelf with its kind, and made a mental note to attempt to vaporize her stepbrother later; she concentrated on keeping the pile of miscellaneous edibles floating in front of her.

"_Hang on, I need to double-check that list…"_

She opened up one of her saddlebag pockets magically, and the black notebook stared back at her innocently. The prospect of writing in the book was just so tempting…

"_Hey there, wouldn't you like to have fun with us?"_

"_N…no! Get away_!"

"Hmm?"

There seemed to be some sort of scuffle breaking out outside the shop. Twilight could hear the cries of the harassed girl as the two colts closed in, snickering menacingly. Twilight could just make out what they were saying through the thin glass pane. She set down her shopping, and concentrated on mentally unscrambling the sound of what was conspiring outside.

"_Well, well, aren't you a feisty one! No one turns Steel Anchor and Bronze Shield down, so consider yourself lucky!"_ He bit on the terrified filly's ear, making the other colt giggle.

This naturally appalled Twilight, but she had to avoid a frontal confrontation, because even she couldn't best two fully grown earth ponies, colts, especially, with her magic. She'd probably get ripped to pieces. Fishing for her mobile phone, with a chilling realization she remembered it was in the breast pocket of her uniform, which she had taken off the moment she had stepped into her home, which felt like the worst possible place in the world to have her clothes that instant.

Running out of options, she stared at the floor, and her gaze met the book. A silent resonance resounded within Twilight's mind. It sounded crazy, no; like the _epitome _of insanity, but it had to work. _It had to_.

Picking up the book, she flipped to the third page, and floated in a pen from the cash register when the attendant wasn't looking. The page, although a bit rough around the edges and a bit yellow, looked and felt just like ordinary writing paper. Feeling slightly foolish in the back of her head, she wrote down two names. It hardly felt like a death sentence, but she was done in five seconds. The first quarter of the first line of the third page now read "Silver Anchor" and "Bronze Shield". Watching the clock, she held the book close to her as the first twenty seconds passed.

The filly was now being manhandled into a van, but she was putting up a good fight, kicking and screaming. No-one helped her, just pulled their scarves closer to themselves or did up their coats closer to their faces, and walked away from the crime with renewed vigor.

Thirty seconds. The filly was giving up, her efforts failing her. Twilight bit her lip till it bled, but she didn't feel anything.

Thirty eight…nine…forty.

Just as Twilight was about to pick up her grocery again, a miracle happened. The two colts suddenly stopped in their tracks. They heaved and coughed, and beat at their chests with their hooves till Twilight was certain that they had already broken a few ribs. And just like that, they dropped dead. The filly who was almost raped screamed and ran.

Twilight's lip felt oddly cold and numb, and she could feel the hot blood running down her chin. The pen fell with a clatter to the tiled flooring, as did the book. The numbness in her lip soon spread to the rest of her body, paralyzing her. An attendant came up with her with a wad of toilet paper, about to help her stem the flow of the coppery crimson liquid, till she saw the two dead bodies, with limbs splayed akimbo and mouths frothing outside the convenience store. Mirroring the shriek of the near-victim that Twilight had somehow saved, she sped off on her wings to call the police; Twilight neither saw nor heard this. One particular train of thought was circulating through her internal supercomputer, jamming out all other physical or mental influence.

"_The book worked. This magic isn't real. There's only Unicorn Horn magic. That's the only magic that exists. Magic cannot be transferred to objects, not since that power was sealed during the Great Reckoning. That magic wasn't mine. The book cannot be real. But it worked. The book worked." _

"Back so soon, Twilight? You've been a great help."

Twilight plopped the pile of assorted fruits and cartons on a stool next to the stairs.

"Um…yeah. Mum, I'm gonna go study now so don't disturb me. Send dinner up, its okay."

Mrs. Sparkle's eyes crinkled with amusement.

"Aren't you the hardworking one? Well, if there's anything you want, just ask. Oh, and there's some apples on your desk from Sweet Apple Acres, your favourite."

Twilight nodded unsteadily and headed off to her room.

The door lock clicked shut. Curtains were drawn, and Twilight turned her saddlebags upside down, making the book fall out. Opening it to a fresh page, Twilight reflected on what had happened. Surely the convenience store incident had been but a coincidence. A freak accident…that was what it was. But just to be sure…

Twilight switched her television on and swapped channels to the news. The newscasters were providing live coverage from the crime scene of a madpony holding some children hostage. The newscasters were anxious, and the crowd was screaming and yelling and trying to break the police barrier to get at their children. And all this time, a picture of the criminal and his name was broadcasted in the top-left hand corner of the television.

Bingo.

Twilight's pen hovered over the page, hesitating. Each drop of ink that would touch the yellowed paper was akin to tightening the noose in preparation for an individual's death sentence.

"_Wait. If I actually succeed in killing him, will I be a murderer?"_

She shook her head from side to side. Of course she had to do it.

Writing the pony's name in the book, she stared at the grey analog clock that lay on her desk.

Thirty nine…Forty.

Nothing happened.

"Well, I guess that was to be expected."

Twilight switched her lights off, getting ready for bed as the TV switched back to its normal news channel, having no further information about the crime. She was just about to reach for the remote when-

"_This just in! There's been a development of the crime!"_

The head of the police, a burly and steely-eyed green dragon, was just about to take the mike when the crowd's screaming reached a new high. Something had happened, and the camera jolted and blurred as the crew dashed towards the building entrance. The hostages had escaped.

"_It looks like the police are now barging in to check, and-oh, my. The madpony is dead Quick! Get the came-" _

"Dead?"

"_The riot police have denied shooting the colt! Does this mean he committed suicide after being cornered?"_

"_According to the hostages' statements, he suddenly collapsed, clutching at his chest!"_

"_A heart attack?"_

"A heart attack? No…this has got to be another coincidence."

"TWILIGHT!"

Twilight gasped and turned towards the door.

"It's your first day of summer cram school, sorry I forgot. I've packed a great dinner for you, so come on down, sweetheart!"

Twilight packed her saddlebags again, her mind clouded and unfocused, but stuffed the book inside on purpose this time.

"Deathnote…if this is the real deal…I'm gonna have to test it again. But on a criminal. If they're too infamous their deaths would be too large-scale to be publicly released at once…I need to see results NOW!"

"Hey, Lyra, lend me fifty bucks, will you?"

Lyra swatted her friend's hand away gently.

"Cinnamon, I'm part of the police force now. I can't lend you money to gamble."

Cinnamon whined, and quickly sat down in her seat as the teacher entered the poorly lit classroom.

"_I could kill Cinnamon"_, Twilight thought. _"She's a known illegal gambler and a drug addict, but she's never been caught. Besides, no one would ever notice if one of her kind were gone."_

The teacher began talking, but Twilight was off in another world.

"_No. I should avoid people I know. Then again, I shouldn't be too bothered."_

"_Jeez, _after_ all that you wonder how many people the world would be better off without," _Twilight muttered, walking home.

"_But now I know for sure the book works." _

Twilight had already filled in two whole pages.

Two.

Whole.

Pages.

In her neat and uniform hoofwriting, lay the names of tens upon tens of petty criminals and schoolyard bullies that Twilight had deemed unfit to live.

She gripped the book in the clutches of her magic, and her vision blurred and darted around the two pages that she had filled in with names.

"Heh…Heh…*cough* Hahahaha…HAHAHAHAHA!"

So many dreams. So many possibilities.

_So little time._

"I see you've taken quite a liking to that book, dearest."

Twilight whipped around in her swivel chair, and shrieked. Luckily, her room was soundproofed to a certain amount due to her study's thick walls and numerous bookcases.

A pure white alicorn towered above her, easily taller then her by meter or two, a maniac leer splitting her face. She was extremely beautiful, but the insane glint in her eye hinted that she was a being so ancient and powerful that it would be the height of foolishness to offend her.

Celestia tilted her head sideways, her grin softening to an approximation of a kind smile, which she struggled to hold.

"Why are you so surprised to see me? I'm Celestia, the God of Death that dropped that book."

Twilight cringed as the apparition pointed a golden-shod hoof at the object wrapped in Twilight's arms.

"And judging by your rather amusing reaction before, I'm pretty sure you know that this isn't _any_ ordinary notebook. You can't kill a God of Death, so I suggest you put that pen down."

Twilight's stationery fell to the floor for the second time that day.

"A Death God, huh. I'm not surprised to see you, Celestia."

Twilight drew herself to her full height, pitifully still about three times shorter than her intruder.

"More like I expected to see you, Celestia."

"Oh?"

"Not that I ever had a doubt this was a Death God's notebook, but as I experiment and see results with my eyes, I can act with greater certainty."

Celestia grinned again, and moved uncomfortably close to Twilight, their snouts almost touching.

"You surprise me too, and you remind me of a student I had, a few thousand years ago when I was mortal," She whispered into Twilight's ear, sounding less and less humane with each syllable that rolled past her great tongue, each word seemed as physically palpable as the "hallucination" Twilight was giving witness to.

"I've heard of Deathnotes getting down to the human world before, but no-one's never done this much in a day," She said while motioning towards the open book.

She drew away, and Twilight realized she had been gritting her teeth for the duration of their exchange, and rectified it immediately.

"I'm prepared, Celestia. I used the Deathnote, fully comprehending its purpose, and now you're here."

Her eyes hardened, and threatened to impale the alicorn on her line of sight.

"So what happens now? Do you take my soul?"

Celestia laughed. Her laugh was so similar to Twilight's mother's, like a tinkling of glass bells on the summer winds carried through a verdant and lush field, just that Celestia's was more…ladylike.

"Twilight?"

The lock clicked open, and Twilight's mother walked in.

The world crashed around Twilight's ears.

"_Fuck! I didn't take my keys out of my clothes!"_

"Mother, I can explain."

She looked around, and sighed.

"You're a young lady, not Spike," She chided, shaking her head and with an upward flourish of her horn, a pile of clothes Twilight had knocked over whilst freaking out over the alicorn god folded themselves neatly and landed in a pile at the mortified filly's feet. "Keep your room cleaner, dear."

And all that time, Celestia was laughing and slapping her side, floating in the air in a quite unobscured position in front of the middle-aged mare.

"She can't see me, my dear Twilight. Only those who have touched the Note can see or hear me." She said as she watched Mrs. Sparkle plod away down the stairs.

"I take back what I said before. Actually, I do have a price for the book. Sorry m'dear, the hysteria of finding someone as perfect as you to hold my book will probably wear off soon."

Twilight stiffened as she closed the door.

Drat.

Celestia effortlessly hovered over the plate of apples.

"Feed me."

Twilight almost laughed at the incredulity of her unwanted guest. A god that needed to be fed. Yeah. This world was pretty screwed up.

"No, seriously. As a God of Death I can't choose to touch anything till my contracted mortal touches it." She explained, and winked.

"The feeding is an added bonus. You see, I've taken quite a shine to you, my dear Twilight. Now feed me, please."

Twilight sighed, and with a simple swipe of her horn, an apple flew across the room…and phased through Celestia's head.

"You do comprehend the definition of touch, my dear? Physical contact is needed for me to eat that. Now do it again, this time properly."

Feeling uncomfortable, Twilight bit into an apple, and resisting the urge to swallow, held the fruit up to the alicorn. Biting into the sweet and tart flesh of the fruit, Celestia accepted the apple, and devoured it in two bites, golden juice dripping from the corner of her muzzle.

"Mmm! Earth apples are _nothing _like the ones in my realm! They're so…"

Celestia pondered this for a moment.

"Juicy!"

_Three Months Later_

"Look, Celestia."

It was a balmy summer afternoon, and Twilight was on her computer, surfing what looked like a Tumblr page.

"Looks like I'm famous now. Apparently people now call me 'Kira', translated from the Dragonese word for "Justice". They portray me as a crusader of the righteous, a protector of the innocent. They even have artist impressions of me. They make me too tall and my mane too long in most of them, and most of them portray me as a male. What a _sexist_ world we live in."

Celestia took another little nibble of the apple she was given.

"But they're also those who call you a murderer and a heartless monster, Twilight dearest."

Twilight swiveled around in her chair, annoyed.

_Equestrian Police Headquarters_

"We are gathered here in conference in regards to the serial killings of the individual or terrorist group Kira."

Murmurs of discussion echoed throughout the darkened room.

Commander Savage, head of the Equestrian Police, stood in front of the conference hall, filled with international and Equestrian powers, including the current President. Clearing his throat, he continued.

"Several hundred criminals have been found dead in their cells or killed in action across the globe. The nature of this crime is so perplexing that even our best minds cannot crack this case. Therefore, we have decided to bring in the best detective in the world, L."

The murmuring instantly broke out into confused chaos, and Savage dropped his microphone on the floor to get everyone's attention.

"For those who are unfamiliar with L, here are some details. L is an anonymous individual with great skill. He has solved several tens of world-class cases as the brains behind the police, and has only recently made himself available for contact. L can only be reached through an individual known as Blue, who is with us today. Mr. Blue, if you please."

_A Hotel Room, Manehattan_

Luna sat in front of her computer. Everything was ready. Brushing her long, lustrous but slightly unkempt mane away from her tired eyes, she put on the headset, and checked the voice filter to see if it was working.

Taking a bite out of the chocolate bar she was munching on, she began the transmission, which would be broadcast through a laptop Blue was holding.

"Hello, international and Equestrian comrades. I am L."

**Author's notes: OHGOSHFINALLYDONE whew. Hope you liked it. And this is just the boring part. Luna will have more screen time in the upcoming chapters, since she's the main protagonist (Twi's the ANTAGONIST). Also, Dash, Pinkie and a certain Wonderbolt and a certain French background pony who's strangely very popular these days will take the stage as mains. Not sure about Rarity, though, haven't (bothered to have) given her much thought yet. BUT FLUTTERSHY! SHY SHALL BE AN ANTAGONIST (ON TWI'S SIDE). On whom is she going to be…though…Hint: The Stare coughshinigamieyescough. **

**Sneak Peek: Luna dropped eleven sugar cubes into her coffee, one by one. The teaspoon came to life, and began stirring. "Kira is childish, and he hates to lose," She said thoughtfully, an aura of magic twirling a lock of her starry mane. "Why so, Moon?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Simple, really," Luna continued. Her coffee cup floated to her mouth, and the detective downed the entire sugar-laden beverage without flinching or gagging. Daintily licking away a stray spot of coffee at the side of her muzzle with grace befitting a princess, she smacked her lips gently. "Because I'm also childish and I, too, hate to lose."**

**Yeah, so I have this compulsion to have quotes somewhat related to the preceding and forthcoming chapters at the end of each, so here goes…**

"_**Ruination to all."**_

**-Sephiroth**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2-Luna

"_As you may already know,"_ She continued.

"_I am recognized by many international powers to be the best detective in the world. You have reason to doubt me." _

"L. I have a question."

"_Ah, Emissary Kim-Ju-Won. Please don't be alarmed, I have a webcam, you see. I am well-aware of your concerns, you being an extremely cautious colt. However to prove my loyalty to the force, I will be meeting several members of the Equestrian force in private, which will be discussed with Commander Savage himself."_

The Emissary sat down, a little embarrassed.

Luna leaned back in her chair and bit into her chocolate again.

Everything was going well in accordance to her grand design. Now that she had the trust of the Interpol, she could hunt Kira down with much more ease.

"_Firstly, I will be running a check on this…Kira group, although I already have a hunch this Kira is only one individual. That is all from me today, Blue, please transfer my laptop to the main office of the Equestrian Police Force."_

Commander Savage trudged up the mud-covered pavement to his house. It was already dinnertime, and he could already smell his wife making stew for everyone. It almost made him feel better about the daunting nature of the Kira case.

"_The Golden Life Hotel, at 8 p.m. in two days from now. Ask the reception for a customer named Moon River."_

Savage personally couldn't believe that L was already showing his identity so soon into the investigation, and this meant he was serious. Rapping the oaken door smartly, he was welcomed by a big hug and a kiss on the cheek by his floating stepdaughter.

"Good to see you home, Spike Senior."

"Yes Twilight, Daddy's home."

**The Next Evening**

Twilight idly changed the channels while Celestia worked her way through a pile of apples.

The door was locked shut, and the curtains pulled tight, like they had always been since that fateful night.

"_This just in! A news report from the Interpol!"_

A smart-looking white colt in a suit took up the whole of the screen. He seemed to be sitting at a conference desk, a name plaque in front of his crossed hooves, reading "Liar's Paradox".

This was also simultaneously played on all the huge plasma TVs throughout Manehattan. People stopped and looked, pointing and staring at the Interpol banner behind the importantly dressed colt.

"_As you now know, my name is Liar's Paradox. And I am heading the investigation of the Kira case raised by the Interpol. This message is currently being played across the world, as this case is of supreme importance to the existence of life itself. I am the greatest detective in the world, and the rumors you have heard of me are all true. I am the one codenamed L."_

He cleared his throat.

"_I_ _am now presenting myself to the public eye as this is crucial. Kira is a ruthless murderer and must be stopped at all costs."_

Twilight scowled. Not if she could help it. Any minute now, L would drop dead, killed by a heart attack. She had no doubt that "Liar's Paradox" was probably just an alias, but it was well worth a shot.

Thirty-nine…Forty.

"_As I was saying…URRRRGH!"_

"L" collapsed dead, his eye twitching.

"I DID IT! AHAHAHAHA!"

Twilight kissed the cover of the book, and even gave Celestia a hug, which she returned, albeit awkwardly.

Then it happened. The screen buzzed, and a letter L appeared.

"_Well done, Kira. You fell right into my trap."_

Twilight's stomach felt queasy as her deductive skills set to work. Of course. How could she have been so blind?

"_Firstly, that wasn't me. I am the real L. That Paradox you just killed was merely a death row prisoner set to be executed today. Secondly, I know you are in Equestria, because I lied. This was **only** broadcast in Equestria, in the Manehattan area to be exact. I now know your exact location. And now I know you work alone, for no group could have so swiftly killed Liar's."_

Twilight's head swam; she threw up violently onto the floor, and collapsed. Celestia propped her up against the head of the bed as another wave of vomit spurted out of her throat and spattered her sheets with a partially translucent green layer.

"_So what now, Kira? Kill me!"_

A hushed, highly contagious silence spread out through the streets of Manehattan.

"_Kill me! Surely you have the guts to kill me after all those people you killed!"_

Two minutes passed, and L resumed talking.

"_Now I can assume that you need a face or a name to kill someone, or his or her exact location or a visual of such."_

Twilight's mouth was slack, and the stench of vomit assailed her nostrils. Tears ran down her face incessantly as she sucked in air, ready to scream and tear her burning oesophagus apart in pure, unadulterated shock.

**The Next Evening**

"Unit 2743…It's here."

The Golden Life was a rather opulent affair, with plushy red carpets embroidered with the likeness of several mythical creatures, namely phoenixes and wild dragons. The walls were pale cream and roman-stylized pillars painted gold stood at every corner.

Knocking on the door exactly thirteen times as specified, Commander Savage recited the page-long password that L had him take down in the privacy of his office. The door clicked, and they were received by a tall, elderly stallion with slightly grey aquamarine fur and a slightly deeper mane, with three stripes of grey running through its length. Judging by the silver suit he wore, along with the white tie with a pin in the shape of a crescent attached to it, he was Blue, except that he had taken off the mask and bowler hat he wore to Interpol meetings.

"Please. My master awaits you."

They turned to where the living room was, and were not prepared for what they saw.

A blue alicorn was seated, or rather, crouched in his chair, his long blue mane studded with stars. Now, alicorns these days were scarce, not extinct, and having a living, breathing one in front of them was quite unexpected. After all, it was common knowledge that all alicorns were descended from the first Canterlot Royal Family hundreds of years ago.

He was wearing a loose long-sleeved white shirt that strangely had a very girly cutting as it stopped just below his chest, exposing his midsection and equally baggy black cargo pants. L was quite thin, but his figure was a bit too…curvy to be male.

"Surprised much? Identification, please."

The lack of bass and the light, feminine tone of his voice were even more startling.

L was a "Her".

Trying not to look _too _surprised, Savage and his associates took out their cards.

"Commander Savage of the Equestrian Police, Draconian division and Head of Operations."

"Commander Fleur of the Equestrian Police, Unicorn and Public Relations Division."

"Commander Soarin, Equestrian Police Pegasus Division, and this is Dash, who shares my rank with me."

"I can make my own introduction, can't I? Commander Rainbow Dash, and yeah…what he said."

"Commander Pinkamena Diane Pie of the Equestrian Police, Earth Pony Division."

Luna turned her head, and let the five see her face. The police officers were quite amused to see her true face at last. L had soft, ladylike features, and if one looked closely enough, had dark eye circles that were very cleverly concealed by the dark blue tone of her fur. Her huge, soulful eyes were a clear, bright viridian, and were like glass marbles at the edges, but grew more clouded towards the pupil. She looked like the kind of mare you would expect to be sucking on a lollipop, dressed in bright, multicolored skirts and sleeveless tops.

And this filly who looked hardly over twenty-five was among the greatest minds in the world, if hers wasn't already at the pinnacle of perfection. However, with the exception of Savage, the other four Commanders were also around the same age, being highly skilled in their own fields at a tender age.

"Bang."

L had fired a bolt of energy from her horn that had missed Savage's head by a millimeter. Rainbow Dash grabbed the detective by the collar, lifting her up by a few inches.

"Dash, don't be hasty-"

"Stay out of this, Soar! What in the hay was that about?"

L smiled wryly, and the room glowed eerily blue.

Dash realized that she and everyone else were standing inside a gargantuan magic sigil that bore the glyph for "Destruction". To cast such a spell with such ease…L was truly something else. The glyph faded, and L pulled herself out of Rainbow Dash's loosened grip.

"I was only trying to prove a point to all of you, Commander Spike Savage," She stated, her sweet and youthful voice dangerously quiet.

"You see, if I were Kira, you would all be dead now."

The officers gave each other looks, slightly red in the face. L had a point.

"Now that we've broken the ice," She continued, gesturing towards the table, which was piled with several platters of sweet treats and jugs of tea and coffee. "Please, make yourselves comfortable and have a slice of cake. Commander Fleur, knowing your past life as a supermodel and being still cautious about your figure, which I must say, is still splendid, so I've prepared some fruit too, including your favourite Concorde grapes. Commander Soarin, you have a severe peanut allergy so don't touch this, this and this plate," She said, pointing to some chocolates, a cake and a bowl of popcorn.

"How much do you know, L?" Savage asked, furrowing his brow. L levitated two bulging files over from the bed where her communication equipment and her computer were set up. Setting them down on the table with a thump, she smiled again, showing off a thin line of her pearly whites.

"Everything."

Acquiring the papers she needed from one file, she turned her attentions to the Commanders.

"You may not use your phones here, or take notes. All information will be sent to you by Blue via an anonymous government server based email, and all files will be transferred to the Classified Confidential folder in the police's server. Understood? Good. Now, onto business, Commanders. Amongst other things, I have deduced that Kira is a student."

She unfolded a crumpled piece of parchment that turned out to be a hoofdrawn line graph that clearly depicted the killings had occurred during weekdays, and during the weekdays, most killings occurred during after-school hours, while the rest of the murders peaked on weekends, symbolized by two jagged spikes that towered over the others by a few centimeters.

"I have liaised myself with the FBI in Fillydelphia, they will be sending out twelve agents to scout the Manehattan area. Now, Blue will hand out some wristwatches to you all. Adjust the dial to twelve on both hands if you need to contact Blue, in most cases to find out which hotel I'm currently staying at, and he will call you instantly on your mobile using a blocked number. Smash the watch if you are endangered, it will release a homing signal that will allow us to quickly locate you."

Luna dropped eleven sugar cubes into her coffee, one by one. The teaspoon came to life, and began stirring. "Kira is childish, and he hates to lose," She said thoughtfully, an aura of magic twirling a lock of her starry mane.

"Why so, L?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'd prefer you'd call me Moon, it's closer to my real name. It's simple, really," Luna continued. Her coffee cup floated to her mouth, and the detective downed the entire sugar-laden beverage without flinching or gagging. Daintily licking away a stray spot of coffee at the side of her muzzle with grace befitting a princess, she smacked her lips gently. "Because I'm also childish and I, too, hate to lose."

As Blue poured her a second cup, Luna gave strict instructions to the Commanders present.

"Please leave at half-hour intervals, and in the meantime, enjoy a snack while you wait, and let us talk. Commander Spike Senior, you have a wife and two children waiting, more than anypony else here, so why don't you leave first? Do have a croissant before you leave, I know they aren't like the ones at the bakery downtown but do have a try."

Savage plucked a treat from a triple-decked tray, and waved politely, bidding the alicorn mare goodbye.

Just _how_ much did she know?

"You're scary, Detective Moon. I didn't even know Commander Savage had a son called Spike!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed through a mouthful of cake as the door shut itself.

"Dash, _you_ wouldn't even know _yourself_ if you had a son called Spike."

"Be nice, Commander Pinkie Pie."

"Don't call me that, Wonderbolt kid!"

Luna sipped on a new mug of coffee thoughtfully, having watched several sugar cubes meet their watery demise in her steaming drink. These Commanders were…interesting.

"Anyway," the cyan female pegasus continued, completely ignoring the venomous stare her pink, leather clad colleague was giving her.

"Why _are_ you a girl anyway?"

Luna rolled her eyes inwardly.

"_What a sexist society we live in."_

"Moon?"

Luna turned her head towards the curvaceous unicorn Commander, Fleur.

"Yes?"

Her pink-rimmed eyes traveled towards the carpet, and slowly up to meet Luna's green.

"Can we trust you?"

Luna took a bite of cake, and then wiped the blue frosting off her lips with a lace handkerchief that Blue produced. He had been amazingly silent the whole time, standing behind the group.

"You can, as long as you aren't…Kira." She emptied her mug, which was again promptly filled, this time with warm milk.

"What matters is, my dear Commander. Can I trust _you_?"

"_Twilight."_

Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop.

"_Twwwiiiiillliiighhht."_

Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop.

"_Twilight, you're being followed."_

The unicorn mare stopped in her tracks, and levitated a compact mirror out of her school saddlebags. Using the mirror, she surveyed her surroundings. Several of the twigs she had taken care not to break had been broken. As usual, her hunch was right.

This time, she took her mobile out and pretended to dial a number.

"Shouldn't you have told me sooner?"

"_Well, excuse me for being ignored."_

"I can't talk to you when I'm out, this is rare." She added the last part in to not look suspicious, knowing her stalker was probably an investigator hired by that idiot L.

"_Yeah, yeah, whatever. Gimme an apple, dearest, I'm hungry."_

Slamming the door to her study shut, Twilight bit into an apple, throwing the rest over her shoulder. To the normal pony's eye, the apple stopped, frozen in the air for a split second, and then vanished.

"Seph. Seph. Hey, Seph."

Annoyed to an almost intolerable degree, the silver Death God swung his head in a wide arc towards his colleague and almost let loose an obscenity when the silver stream that was his mane hit him in the face. Magically clearing a path for his green slit-pupiled eyes, he glared daggers at Genesis in a quite literal fashion, as several katana swords materialized out of thin air, the cold-edged weapons threatening to bite voraciously into the poet God's rump.

"What."

The other God sighed, and took a bite out of the purple apple he was having for tea.

Genesis always had tea.

Not lunch, breakfast or dinner.

Just tea.

"It's been a while now since we died, General Sephiroth."

The colt started a bit at his old title, the one he had when he was mortal.

"I suppose."

The numerous swords forged from solid crystallizations of Sephiroth's imagination fell and vanished with a metallic clang onto the rocky knoll Genesis was sitting on, the very same knoll where they had last seen Celestia.

"And now we're ponies." He flapped his single wing to emphasize his point.

"I suppose."

Now it was Genesis's turn to glare at Sephiroth.

"Is that all you can say? I bet if _she_ were still here, _she'd_ be able to make you smile again."

Sephiroth spat onto the sand. A distasteful flavor had somehow crept its way to his tongue. It tasted of bile and vomit, fresh flowers and the taste of her lips-

"Celestia's a pervert. If she needed a vessel to satisfy her innate craving for pedophilia, she would have chosen you, Rhapsodos."

His cold and aloof tone couldn't hide the hurt in his voice.

Genesis's own usually mellow and musical voice lowered to a snakelike whisper befitting one who presided over death.

"You know I'm not talking about Celestia."

Sephiroth turned his head towards the inky canopy of the night. With a thought, the Moon appeared in the sky that was empty of stars, larger than it should ever have been.

"I feel closer to her this way."

Genesis sighed theatrically again, and within the molten folds of his weather-beaten red trenchcoat, produced a leather-bound tome. Flipping to the first page, he read out the first few lines.

"_Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, and take it to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface,"_ He recited, the lilting tone and the gentleness returning to his speech.

"The wandering soul knows no rest." The One-Winged Angel and the Scarlet Commander said this line together with a tone that was neither sorrow nor happiness. It was hope.

Sephiroth scoffed, all emotion drained from his voice again.

"I hate that poem. Loveless, Act One."

Genesis snapped the book shut, and smiled quietly, staring at the conjured moon.

"Hmph. You remembered."

Sephiroth took his turn to betray a hint of emotion again, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his muzzle. He tapped at his skull with a hoof.

"How could I not, when you've beaten it into my head?"

Genesis sniffed, about to cry.

"This was when Angeal would tell me not to take you lightly."

Sephiroth summoned forth a sword, which cartwheeled and careened through the colorless sands from a great distance to come to a halt half buried in the ground. Unlike Sephiroth's previous display of his power, this sword was real. Grubby bandages were wrapped around the great blade, the sword almost as tall as Sephiroth himself. It had a wide and angular shape that tapered towards one side that was sharp, the other side a flat surface that could be used to spar without killing when they were alive.

The Buster Sword.

That was all of what was left of Angeal when he broke his sacred oath and killed a mortal to enhance the life of another. He was killed in that pony's stead, disintegrated into a substance that was neither dirt nor glass, tears or blood, his hundred-year lifespan added to the mare he had fallen in love with.

That was all that was left, and his Deathnote, that is.

The three had come to Nothingness together, having died with enlightenment, but having sinned in one way or another. In a way, Sephiroth and Genesis had dragged the pure Angeal along, for their strong bonds of friendship had lasted beyond the grave. And by some cruel trick of fate, they were tasked as Death Gods to look over a certain Equestria in another dimension, where "friendship was magic", or so they were told by Celestia.

Celestia was nice enough, although she got drunk a lot on alcohol that she spirited away from the mortal realm. Apparently she was some sort of monarch of Equestria a few hundred years ago, before some frightful catastrophe happened and she ended up in Nothingness. If Sephiroth remembered correctly, it was called The Great Reckoning or something to that effect. It sealed away all magic except for those naturally born gifted with such power, to prevent abuse of magical items. And with the Elements of Harmony shattered, Celestia was accidentally killed by her own people, and with the magical quality of the gems she died too, her life-force tied to the artifacts, relinquishing her control of the Sun and the Moon to the seasons.

This was followed by a period called the New Lunar Republic, where Celestia's sister, insane with the grief and hate towards her sibling's death, committed a mass genocide of unicorns affiliated with the Great Reckoning followed by her own public suicide a hundred years later, leaving behind an alicorn child of unknown gender, Celestia's foal, who would grow to be the ancestor of all alicorns. No one knew what Celestia's sister looked like, for Equestria was such a peace-loving country that they burned all records of the New Lunar Republic, never to be reminded of the hurt and pain their rightful Moon Goddess had caused.

Sephiroth knew, however. Nothing had been the same the very day Angeal sacrificed himself to save that mare, and the day _she_ vanished. Being a Death God herself she could not be seen through the Seeing-Pool that the Death Gods used to spy on the mortal realm.

The alicorn threw and stabbed the greatsword into a boulder where it cleaved through the stone as if it were heated wax.

"Princess…Where art thou?"

**A/N: I. FUCKING. LOVED. THIS. ONE. It came out so well, too. WOONA ISH SO KEWT HNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGH Anyway, It's been a tough ride these few days. I'm from Singapore, this little island country full of Chinese people that no one knows about, but like I said, I just moved to New Zealand. And broke up with my girlfriend too. On the plus side, I lost six kilos due to overtraining cardio and depression, and upped my bench press capacity to 55 and hammer curls to 12 so life's still pretty good. Look forward to more Luna and possibly Shy's first appearance.**

"_**For all your suffering, you still end up in purgatory."**_

**-Chaos **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Three days, and five reviews already? I feel motivated! Regarding a certain writer's query, no, Fluttershy isn't Rem. Yes. You know what that means. More on Luna's dubious past and her connection to the Gods in this chapter. Also, the Fluttershy scene is at the end. I almost died from laughing as I wrote that. Read on, and find out. Tell me what you liked in your reviews, if you have any! And don't forget the (SUPER CUTE FLUTTERSHY) sneak peek at the end, where I'll have something IMPORTANT FOR DEATHNOTE FANS to say as well! Don't hate on me for killing ponies-hate on Kira instead. ENJOY!**

**-Shadesque **

Chapter 3-Of Cracked Windows And Origins

_Kcccchhhhhhzzzzzttttttt._

"_Look at you."_

_Genesis was soaked through. Looked like the heavens were in mourning._

_They should be._

_He gave the cardboard box a soft kick._

_Kcccccchhhzzzttt._

_The filly in the box giggled. Genesis prodded her with the end of his sword._

_Kcccccccccccchhhhhhhzzzzzzttt._

_The filly took the end of the blade into her mouth, gurgling happily._

"_Now, now. Look what you did to yourself."_

_The filly stared at him._

"_Don't give me that look. You understand perfectly well what I'm talking about."_

_The child began to cry, her tears mingling with the incessant rain that bombarded them from above._

_Genesis removed a plastic bag secured with a length of twine and a waterproof marker from his coat pocket._

"_You've always enjoyed my poems, isn't that right? Now cease with the childish noise."_

_Miraculously, the filly went absolutely silent._

_Genesis cleared his throat._

_KCCCCCHHHHHHZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTT._

"_When the war of the beasts….KKKKKZZZ…brings about world's end, the Godde…kkkkkkkkccchhhzzzzz…from the sky. She leads us to salvatio…..kkkkkkzzzzzttt…er glory everlasting."_

_He lifted up the bag._

"_An autographed handwritten copy just for you. Isn't that sweet of me?"_

_He placed the plastic-encased book in the box, almost forgetting why he had taken the marker out in the first place._

_Taking out his Deathnote, he tore a small piece off the corner of one page. Unraveling the twine on the bag, he started to write on the paper, which would be later slipped into the clear pouch in wait for its new recipient. _

"_Please take good care of me. My name is KKKKKKCCCHHHZZZZZZTTTT ."_

"This is Berry. May I know who this is?"

"It's L."

Berry winced a little at the scraping metallic tone of L's voice scrambler.

"How fares the investigation?"

Berry checked her surroundings, making sure nopony could hear her.

"Regarding Twilight Sparkle? She's just your average highschool filly. She doesn't talk much to others, but that's understandable due to her superb intellect. I had the liberty to check her grades, and they're amazing."

L paused for a moment before replying.

"That's exactly why I think she's Kira. What do you say to that?"

Berry was at a loss for words.

"I…er…"

"Bang. You lose," L interrupted.

"I'd rather you continue your surveillance of the area and the Sparkle family for another week, Agent Punch."

Berry sighed.

"Yes. That will be all, Berry out."

"I need to get rid of him."

Celestia was in the midst of a midair somersault when this caught her attention.

"You know, dearest," She crooned, righting herself up, lowering her muzzle right next to Twilight's ear.

"There is a way I can help you with you little…ah…predicament."

Twilight stopped writing names in the Note for a moment and switched off her computer.

"I'm listening."

Celestia giggled, and resumed twirling head over hooves around Twilight's study.

"Have you ever wondered, my faithful student, how I knew your name?"

"I'm wondering when I became 'your faithful student'."

Celestia snickered, and lay down on the bed.

"I have eyes, Twilight."

Twilight contemplated this for a moment.

"Yes, and I have hooves. But go on anyway."

Celestia's violet irises seemed to glow with an unholy energy, threatening to draw Twilight in and lose her in their maze of raw power.

"But not just any eyes. Death's Eyes."

Twilight raised her head a little bit more, intrigued.

Gratified that she had successfully caught Twilight up in a web of her own ravenous curiosity for the second time, she just smiled wider, flaunting her neat rows of flawless white teeth.

"My eyes can tell if a person is about to die, and their lifespan is visible to yours truly as well. But I think the final appendix of this ability is what you are looking for."

She licked her lips, as if to gobble Twilight up in a single gulp. She could, so Twilight pushed that nasty thought to the back of her mind to fester along with all the other terrible mental images that Celestia gave her on an hourly basis.

"My eyes can see a person's name floating above their head."

Twilight turned her gaze to outside her window, where the dark alleyway where she had been followed stood there ominously in clear sight. She imagined seeing the literally nameless agent's…name visible to her. That would be satisfying.

"What's the cost?"

Celestia laughed again, and flew up to the ceiling, only to drop upside-down right in front of Twilight's face.

"Half your lifespan."

She paused, almost as if half Twilight's lifespan wasn't a fair price.

"And an apple."

Twilight snorted, and kicked away from the table, swooshing across the room in her swivel chair. She tossed an apple from a shopping bag that lay next to the door, which was now rarely opened.

"You can have all the apples you want, dear Celestia," She said in a cold, stern voice as said Death God munched happily on her treat.

"But you'll never get half my lifespan."

Celestia sat down on the top of the bookshelf, her body cut off from the shoulders up, phased through the roof. As a result, her voice was comically altered to sound as if she had a garbage bin over her head.

"I expected you'd say as much BUUUT I suppose you have a backup plan to get rid of her. She's a _her_, by the way," She added, just to be helpful.

"You can't do it for me, could you?"

Celestia descended, to rest at on her haunches next to Twilight just like a pet would.

"As much as I love you, dearest, I am not obligated to help you or harm you in any way whatsoever. Call it Death God protocol, but I'm sorry. Oh, wait."

Celestia stopped again, raising her head towards the heavens, apparently in deep thought.

"I'm not sorry. HEE!"

She resumed her previous activity of bouncing off the walls of Twilight's room, enjoying the novelty of not being bound to gravity unlike so many others.

"Look at this."

Celestia watched Twilight intently as she switched on her computer, and the Equestrian Police logo appeared on the screen.

"Commander Savage is my stepfather. Therefore I have access to all his files, including the ones of prisoners currently incarcerated."

At the press of a button, the blank screen flooded with folders and folders of confidential information.

"I know they suspect Kira is a student, so I've had the liberty of writing,"

She raised the book. Two new pages had been filled in.

"Deaths that will peak on Monday and Wednesday, with no deaths on the weekend. I don't have any information on the FBI agents, but I'll figure something out."

Celestia clapped her hooves together, seemingly impressed.

"But if you act so quickly, won't the authorities suspect that Kira has police informa-"

Her face brightened up, and her eyes narrowed.

"You naughty, naughty filly."

Returning Celestia's wry smile, she clicked on a file named "**Kira**."

"Commander Pinkamena! Commander PinkamenaAAAH!"

A junior agent burst into the Commander's office, simultaneously spilling the numerous papers he was holding all over the Commander's office.

Slamming her beer can against the table, the earth pony Commander opened one eye, and lifted her hind hooves off her desk.

"What, Snails? I expect you to give me explanations as to why you're in my division, why you just messed up my office and why you didn't knock."

"I'm sorry, Commander, but Savage wants to see you along with all the other division heads."

She now opened her other eye, now completely awake.

"Bollocks. Those losers again? Snails, fetch me my trenchcoat. I'm taking a trip to Lametown."

"Commander Dash? Commander Soarin? Oh. Where's Commander Dash?"

Soarin barely even bothered to look up from his edition of _Forbes-Elite Equestrians._

"She's in the middle of a safety drill I made for her. Do you need us?"

The young pegasus colt looked down slightly.

"Umm…Savage wants to see you both. Just asking, if you don't mind…why do you make her take those drills all the time? We have one every year, you know."

Soarin closed his magazine and leaned in conspirationally.

"Look, um, whatever your name is…"

"Cloud. Cloud Strife."

"I care about safety, alright? And the safety of my subordinates and Dash is my number one priority. It's nothing personal, you hear?"

Cloud cocked his head slightly to the side.

"Commander…you're blushing."

""It's…uh…"

Soarin leaned in further.

:"We never spoke. Now shoo and never say anything about our encounter, and I'll promote you. What's your rank, colt?"

"Um…I'm just a normal officer, Commander…"

"Sergeant First-Class Strife. We'll make that happen. Now shoo and find Dash at Block 3."

"Commander Fleur?"

The unicorn filly tried not to gag as the wall of heavily perfumed air that was exuded from the unicorn Commander's office figuratively squashed her as soon as she opened the door an inch.

"Come in, what's stopping you?"

Commander Fleur was sweet and kind to everypony, but seemed completely oblivious to the fact her office was so heavily scented that it verged on being a global threat.

The cream-colored Commander was reclining in her plushy pink leather chair, enjoying a cup of herbal tea.

"Glimmer! How wonderful to see you!"

It was nice that Commander Fleur actually bothered to remember everypony's names. It was one of those things about her, stunning beauty and golden heart aside, that made it a dream to be part of her division.

Glimmer poked her head in, and tried to hold her breath.

She failed.

"Commander Savage wants to see you. Lovely mane, Commander. Bye!"

She shot off across the hallway as quick as an arrow, leaving behind a very confused Fleur.

"What's with her, I wonder? Hmm…I don't know whether I should add a few more lavender candles…?"

"I've called you here because it's imperative that we meet. The situation is dire."

"Whassa matter? Rainbow Crash broke another antique vase at another national unveiling?"

"Pinkie, watch your mouth-"

"Stay out of my mane, Soarin!"

"SILENCE!"

The voice had boomed from a speaker attached to the computer, where several letter "L"s was displayed across the screen, rattling everypony present with the addition of Savage, who was trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, dear," L said.

"Did I scare you? I don't use my angry voice very often, but it's important that you listen to me."

Thankfully, L wasn't using a voice filter when she raised her voice, if not even the windows would have been pulverized, not to mention their eardrums.

"All the members of the Kira investigation, apart from the 12 FBI agents, have handed in their resignation."

A dour chill seemed to creep its way into the room.

"What? This can't be."

"All our agents? All our pegasi? Gone in ten seconds flat!"

"Without our magic…oh, I think I might faint…"

"…Damn."

The room was a conglomeration of questions and arguments, drenching the already tense atmosphere in an even worse cloak of despair.

Because they were alone.

"SILENCE!"

This time, a small window that served as an air vent cracked in two places, the glass being extremely thin.

"My apologies, but I must ask you to remain calm. I have to cool myself down too. This was indeed a shocking turn of events."

There was some rustling on L's side of the camera, and the Commanders heard the distinct sound of foil being unwrapped and chewing.

"There, much better," Luna continued, half of the white chocolate bar that levitated in front of her gone.

Blue brought her a soda in a glass, complete with a little aquamarine umbrella.

Much slurping was heard on the other end.

"Thank you, Blue. Now," She said, addressing the police.

"If Commander Savage hasn't told you yet, the killings this week actually peaked on two weekdays, and no killings happened on the weekends. What do you think this means?"

Rainbow Dash spoke up first.

"That Kira isn't a student after all?"

"No. That's exactly the opposite,"

Pinkie said.

"Kira is showing us that he can control the timing of the kills at his mere whim, and that he has police information, forcing us to suspect one of our own and lose our trust in each other and lower morale."

"As expected from a former military strategist, Commander Pie."

Pinkie flicked her straight mane out of her eyes, smiling haughtily.

"I try my best."

"Therefore, I've narrowed down a few prime suspects. Meet me at my new hotel, the name of which will be sent to you soon. L out."

"_Twilight, I still don't quite follow what you're up to. How does going out on a date with somepony like him accomplish anything?"_

"I'm quite the actor, Celestia," Twilight replied to the currently invisible Death God, speaking into her phone as usual.

"You just have to sit back on your pretty golden hooves, and watch the magic unfold."

"Twilight!"

A handsome young pegasus hailed her down at the bus stop.

"I never thought you'd agree to go out with me. Finally the rumors of you being a lesbian can be put to rest, huh?"

Twilight looked him straight in the eye.

"What if this was all an act to prove to the world I'm not lesbian?"

He was stunned. Typical musclehead.

"Just kidding!"

She smiled demurely and punched him gently in the leg.

"Of course I'm not lesbian…let's go! The bus is here!" She dragged him by the hoof, giggling like a typical schoolfilly.

"_But you never said it wasn't an act."_

Twilight looked at Celestia, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

She boarded the bus, noting the mare in the knit sweater, with a plum-colored mane and a lighter coat, bearing the cutie mark of an apple and a bunch of grapes.

"_She's been following me from home till now…that must be her."_

Sitting in a row in front of the mare, she leaned on her date's shoulder and listened to him talk about the Wonderbolts.

The bus ride went on for about ten minutes; Twilight checked her watch.

"_Three…Two…One."_

"Hands up! Now, all the passengers just sit down and shut up. Get off your bottoms and the driver gets it!"

An ugly-looking unicorn mare stood up, brandishing a gun and screaming at the passengers.

The bus jolted and swerved, almost going up the curb when the mare pointed her gun at the driver.

"Yes, that's a good boy. Keep driving and you all can keep your stinking lives."

The driver's face drained of color as the cold metal was pressed to his forehead.

"W…where to, Miss?"

"JUST DRIVE!"

As the driver complied, the mare behind Twilight tapped her on her shoulder, and handed her a note.

"_I have a gun. I can help you. Listen to me."_

Twilight accepted the note, and floating a pen out of her pocket, proceeded to write:

"_I've heard of this maneuver before. One bad guy holds up the place while another serves as backup, pretending to be another victim. How do I know you're not in cahoots with him?"_

Berry was taken aback by this.

"_Drat. This Twilight filly is smarter than most, alright. Guess I have no choice…"_

"I'm an FBI agent. Here's my card…"

Whispering, she brought put her license for Twilight to see.

"I'm sorry to have doubted you, Agent Berry Punch."

Twilight turned back to the front, at the crazy mare's instruction. On purpose, she let what seemed like a piece of paper slip and fall onto the floor of the bus.

"AHA! Conspiring, are we?"

Berry held her breath. They could all be killed right now.

The mare bent down and picked up the piece of paper.

"What's this?"

She snorted derisively.

"Plans for a date? Movies, dinner and then making out at the fountain at the plaza, huh?"

She roughly mussed up Twilight's mane.

"Ain't that sweet. You got a good marefriend here, kiddo."

She punched Twilight's friend with surprising strength, slamming his head against the window, cracking it and also knocking him out. Blood trickled from his mouth.

Twilight pretended to look shocked and cry as she tried to shake him awake.

"That's right, cry, you useless _bitch_! That what you get for-"

Her mouth hung agape; she dropped the note.

"! Where…where did you come from?"

Celestia looked at the madmare before her. Surely she did not mean…

"_That note was from your Note, huh? Thank you, Twilight, for allotting me the pleasure of torturing this poor misguided lady. I recognize her now. She's that convict who escaped Manehattan Maximum Security Prison, yes? You used the Note to orchestrate her actions before her death and then used another clipping from the book to allow her to see me, and then…"_

"No! Stay back! I have a gun!" The mare fired several shots as they passed right through Celestia and shattered the pane of glass at the back of the bus, and grazing the arm of a little filly.

"_You can't hurt a Death God with that kind of nonsense…Now let me put you to sleep too…"_

Her face twisted into a horrific image of decay and malice.

"Let me out! Let me out!"

The bus stopped, and crawling on all fours, the mare stumbled out into the street.

BANG!

Her head was cleanly cleaved from her body as she was immediately hit by an oncoming sports car. Shaken, the bus driver called for the ambulance and the police.

Twilight disembarked, smug and feeling the euphoria that sweet success brought.

"I must say," Twilight praised into her phone.

"That zombie thing you did with that mare was quite the spectacle.

Celestia puffed out her chest and smiled toothily.

"Death Gods have their uses. Now, what will you do with that colt?"

Twilight stopped in her tracks.

"He already died in the bus of a concussion leading to brain hemorrhage. I thought of that too."

"True…just as expected…Now we just have to deal with Miss Punch, shouldn't we? Quick, write her name, write her name, I can't wait!"

Twilight stared at the mysterious mare in the sweater.

"I might have…other uses for her."

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, and-"

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I'LL LISTEN! I'LL LISTEN!"

Genesis shut his book, victorious.

"And this time it only took me three recitations of the whole play."

Sephiroth _so_ wanted to grab Genesis by the neck and throttle him.

"I've decided to go to the human realm and look after the lady Angeal sacrificed himself for."

Sephiroth nearly fell off his rock. Actually he did.

Dusting himself off, he locked eyes with Genesis, his gaze dripping with incredulity.

"_You._ The most boisterous, pushy, _infuriating_ bastard in the entire Death-damned multiverse wants to look after a quiet little filly like her? She'd commit suicide as soon as she hears that stupid Loveless play you preach on and on about! _I'd_ rather go for her sake!"

"Firstly, Loveless is the 'stupid play', might I quote," waggling his hooves to resemble quotation marks, "That landed us all in this mess. I am to blame, but secondly, you're right. You should go. And give her Angeal's Note while you're at it."

Sephiroth realized he had been tricked.

Wanting to confirm this, he replied with a simple "What?"

Genesis opened up his book.

"You said it yourself. You'd rather go. So go."

"Wait!" Sephiroth spluttered.

"I…you…I'm not going!"

Genesis groaned. Looks like he would have to utilize his not-so-secret anti Sephiroth weapon.

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Godde-"

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I'M GOING, I'M GOING!"

Unfurling his midnight wing, he prepared to take off towards the Seeing-Pool.

"And just for the record, Loveless is a stupid play."

"Goodbye, Sephiroth."

The shopping street was crowded as usual. Mares frantically flitted in and out of shops, trying to make the most of the year-end sale. This was on the way to the train station, and FBI agent Berry Punch thought that she'd had enough for one day. All she could think about was going home, getting a hot bath and then hitting the hay with Colgate.

She smiled a little at the thought of her romantic partner back home waiting for her with a hug and a kiss and hopefully a dinner that was still warm.

She then felt a light tap on her shoulder. And then she heard the words that turned her fur to frost and her blood to ice.

"Berry Punch. I am Kira. Turn around and die."

"K…Kira…what do you want? I have a marefriend waiting for me back home. Please spare us…"

Kira seemed satisfied with her answer.

"Look over there, at that colt cleaning the window. He's a three-time sex offender who's been let off the hook because of lack of evidence. In three seconds, he will die."

Sure enough, the colt suddenly slipped and fell, crashing into the window where he was gruesomely impaled through the belly by several jagged spires of glass.

"I'm about to lean a briefcase on your left hind leg."

Berry immediately felt the pressure of an object on her side.

"Take the contents, which are a transceiver, headset and a folder, and put them on. Walk to the train station. In ten seconds, you are allowed to turn around. Count them yourself."

Berry counted twenty just in case. Sure enough, when she turned around, nopony was directly behind her. Putting the headset on, she hurriedly discarded the briefcase in a nearby trash can and continued on to the train station.

"_Good. Can you hear me? Now I want you to board the train in front of you, the one designated to Fillydelphia. But you will get out at the next station alive, if you listen carefully to me and do what I say."_

Berry boarded the train and took a seat.

"_Now, you will have a file sent to you on your iPony by the Director of the FBI." _

Sure enough, Berry's iPony beeped, signaling a file transmission.

"_Inside this file are the faces and names of the 11 other agents that accompanied you. Take a pen, and look closely at the folder. There are twelve holes in the plastic, where you can see paper. Write the names of the 11 agents, leaving out your own, however when you write the names, don't touch the paper, and visualize the faces of those ponies whose names you write as you write them."_

"_This seems easy enough,"_ Berry thought as she slowly filled in the holes. She was done in a matter of minutes, just as the train stopped at the first station, which was coincidentally her own.

"_Very good. Now leave the folder in the overhead storage shelf, and I will get it soon. Walk away, and if you'd like, you can turn around once you exit the train."_

Unknown to Berry, obviously, the bottom of the pages were times of death and various causes of death ranging from asthma attacks to car accidents. Berry herself had signed her own comrades' death warrants. The agent exited the train, and immediately whipped around.

She fell.

Her chest constricted, and she felt something within her abdomen pulse madly.

"H…HHHHUUUUURRRGGGHHHH!"

With her final strength, inch by excruciating inch, she lifted her head to look at the doors, before they closed. At the edge of the opening, stood the smiling form of Twilight Sparkle, a file floating beside her.

"You…you…promised…"

""I promised you'd get out of the train alive. You did. Farewell."

The last thing Berry Punch saw was not her loving family surrounding her, or a cluster of friends around her deathbed-it was the train doors closing, ever so slowly…

And the vile, inhumane look on her face.

"So…umm…are you an animal? I love animals, but you seem more like a giant alicorn to me…"

Sephiroth sighed.

Trying to get her out from underneath her bed when he first appeared in her room was already difficult enough.

"_Yes, Sephiroth,"_ he berated himself. _"You JUST had to appear in the middle of her room in a deafening clap of thunder and black energy and drop your Deathnote on her, didn't you?"_

Talking to her was even harder.

"So, umm…_filly_…what's your name? I haven't quite seen one as beautiful as yourself for quite some time, you know?"

Sephiroth's game of _try-not-to-frighten-the-freakishly-Death-damned-shy-filly_ was failing horribly.

"Umm, I'm Flutte…" Her words descended into an inaudible mumble mid-sentence.

"What?"

"I'm Fluttersh…"

Sephiroth sighed for what felt like the billionth time that day. Suddenly, Loveless didn't seem that bad after all. Using his magic, he levitated her up in the air so that her muzzle was right next to his ear.

"Again. What's your name. Please be a bit louder, or else I'm going to have you write it out in the book you're holding."

He chuckled darkly at his own joke, and his face fell when he realized she was actually writing her name in the Deathnote. He hurriedly ripped the Note from her grasp, only to realize she had already written her full name.

"Quick! Tell me, when you wrote your name in the book, what were you thinking of?"

"Umm…my cutie mark I guess?"

Sephiroth was in a state of total panic. He may have just inadvertently killed the one filly he was supposed to protect.

"Did you think of your face? Are you sure?"

"Umm…I'm not really sure…"

"Wait here, for thirty seconds."

Time passed, and soon after what felt like the longest thirty seconds of Sephiroth's life, he was relieved to see her still alive, albeit confused.

"I have a lot of explaining to do," He held up the book with her name in it and shook it in her face vigorously, exasperated.

"_Fluttershy._"

**A/N: Loved that last part. Shy is cutest pony. I'm considering adding in Trixie at some point, though. Alright, here's what I'm gonna do, for those who are familiar with Deathnote. Lots of people on the net think that the final Mello/Near arc was redundant and threw off the momentum of the show. I think so too. So I'll have two endings. One will end at *THAT* part where you-know-who falls off his chair, with the other you-know-who doing the same thing as well with a last-minute plot twist, no pun intended. The other will contain the Mello/Near arc in 3-4 chapters. If you're reviewing, tell me who YOU think Mello/Near should be, along with what you liked. If you wanna, I guess.**

**SNEAK PEEK INTO CHAPTER 3: "I think Sephiroth is a bit of a mouthful." Sephiroth looked at the yellow pegasus filly. "Well, what would you like to call me?" Fluttershy leaned against the soft down that covered a part of Sephiroth's wing. "You gave me sacred knowledge, descending from the sky. And your wing is so beautiful, unlike anything I've seen before. And you have a wonderful mane…" She nuzzled a little into the wing, which curled around her a little. "I think I'll call you Angel." **

Quote of the day: _"AJ…I think you're beating a dead…tree…"_

_-Twilight Sparkle, FIM universe, episode 4_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: The HEAVY DUTY shipping begins in Chapter 5. In this chapter, Celestia meets Luna while L meets Kira. VERY SHIPPY FLUTTERTWI SNEAK PEEK AT END! Nuff said. Enjoy!**

**Characters Revealed So Far:**

**Twilight Sparkle as…Light Yagami**

**Princess Celestia as…Ryuk**

**Princess Luna as…L**

**Fluttershy as…Misa Amane**

**Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Pinkie Pie, Fleur de Lis as…Kira Investigation Unit**

**Spike as…Sayu Yagami**

**OCS and Guest Stars**

**Sephiroth as…Rem**

**Genesis Rhapsodos as…Himself**

**Angeal Hewley as…Jealous**

**Commander Savage as…Souichiro Yagami**

**Blue as…Watari **

**-Shadesque**

Chapter 3: Loveless

"YAHOO! I did it!"

Celestia, for some reason, dodged a champagne cork that whizzed past her left ear when she could just as easily phased through it.

Twilight took another deep draught from her cup, and then continued to drink the frothy golden liquid. Alcohol slopped down the sides of her mouth and down her chest.

"Ahh…that feels so good!"

"Repeating my rather obvious inference, my faithful student, Twilight, I think you're drunk."

"I think you, for one, have sexy legs. But do you see me complaining about it?"

She fired a beam of energy at a book on her bedside table, transforming it into a pile of shiny crimson apples with bright, waxen skins. Teleporting them over to rest by her leg, she kicked them one by one at the delighted Death God.

To Celestia's dismay, the interior of each fruit was pulpy and unpalatable, just like…

"Ugh! Paper?"

"GOTCHA!"

Celestia spat out a gob of the dummy apple, where it spontaneously combusted in midair.

"To tell you the truth, the apples in Nothingness, the place where I came from taste just like that too. I wonder how Genesis eats them all the time…"

Twilight looked puzzled.

"Who?"

"Nevermind."

Somepony was knocking on Twilight's door.

"Um…Light? Twilight, are you there?"

More like some_dragon_.

"Ah! Spike! Come in, come in!"

A rather nonplussed silence seemed to emanate from the other end of the heavy oaken door.

"Miss Sparkle, the door's locked."

Grunting, Twilight got off her chair and answered the door with a psychotic grin.

"SPIIKE!"

The preteen dragon groaned. When Twilight got drunk, things got ugly.

"Come in! I have presents!"

The door was hurriedly shut behind them.

Genesis Rhapsodos sat in the middle of the desert in solitude. He called up a wind, and felt the refreshing breeze tousle his mane. With renewed vigor, he felt himself become one with the Pool again.

One minute; two minutes passed.

"AAAARGH!"

He was violently thrown back from the Pool in arcs and waves of silver energy, to land with a crash on his wing and on the wrong end of his book.

"Oof…Not again?"

He picked himself up, and stretched out his wing to its full six-meter span, more than double of both Celestia's wings combined.

With an upward flourish of his horn, the dust blew off his coat, leaving it in its initial rose-red condition.

Ignoring the pain in his side where Loveless had clearly bruised him, he stared at the clouds.

His horn sparked, and just as Sephiroth had done before, the Moon appeared in the sky.

Genesis suddenly felt incredibly unstable, overtaken by emotion.

"Ngh…GRAAAAAAAH!"

At his command, the sky filled with moons, of varying size and color. They expanded and contorted, soon the ceiling of perpetual night was invisible, obscured by the celestial bodies that the enraged God made.

"Why can't I see her? Why is everything obscured by that accursed static?"

He collapsed on his knees; his mouth opened and closed for a few moments, unable to say anything. The words that flowed mellifluously from the poet's tongue like boundless rivers of ambrosia and honey were stuck in his throat. He took out Loveless, and flipped to a random page. Reciting the text, he tried to calm himself down.

"_My friend, do you fly away now, to a world that abhors you and I?_"

His voice strained and cracked; he was so tired.

Tens and tens of times he had tried to scry that crazy mare, each time the static thwarted him. It was like an annoying buzz at first that prevented him from hearing her voice, a grey barrier that blocked her body from view. Then he would be drawn back into the distant past, back to that memory where they last parted ways…

The static would then peak, and then he would be forcibly ejected from the Pool.

He waved a hoof in the air, and the moons disappeared. With the lack of light, Nothingness seemed even more silent, although there wasn't any sound to begin with.

"I wonder how Sephiroth's doing."

Genesis looked at how far the Seeing-Pool was from where he was standing. His wing was hurt, and it would take him about five minutes to walk back. The feeling of hopeless solitude overtook him again.

"Well, this sucks."

"_Well, this sucks."_

"And I call him King Arthur, because his feathers look so regal! Don't you agree, Mr. Seph…Sephi…?"

Sephiroth floated the phoenix doll away from Fluttershy's hooves as she reclined against his wing.

"I think Sephiroth is a bit of a mouthful."

Sephiroth looked at the yellow pegasus filly.

"Well, what would you like to call me?"

Fluttershy leaned against the soft down that covered a part of Sephiroth's wing.

"You gave me sacred knowledge, descending from the sky. And your wing is so beautiful, unlike anything I've seen before. And you have a wonderful mane…"

She nuzzled a little into the wing, which curled around her a little.

"I think I'll call you Angel."

She stroked Sephiroth's wing, and cuddled up to it.

"I'm sleepy, Mr. Angel. Will you tell me a bedtime story?"

Sephiroth sighed. He understood why Angeal would fall for this one.

"Alright, Fluttershy."

He cleared his throat.

"Once upon a time, there were three unicorn friends. They were all colts in the army, and they were respected and feared by everypony."

Sephiroth realized that Fluttershy was now covering her face with her mane and shaking.

"F…feared?"

Sephiroth gently brushed her mane away from her eyes, and continued in the gentlest voice he could muster.

"They were the very best of friends, and one day, as they were sparring, one of the friends, who wore a long and shiny red cloak, was hurt."

Fluttershy gasped.

"Oh…oh, my. Did he get better?"

Sephiroth shook his head sadly.

"He just got worse and worse. Soon enough, that colt left the army, his thick, chocolate-colored mane had started to become grey, and his fur had started to fall out. He became angry and jealous of the other two friends, one who used a large and heavy sword, and another who had glowing eyes like emeralds."

"Like yours, Mr. Angel?"

Sephiroth couldn't help but smile.

"Yes, just like mine."

"The angry colt realized he had a disease because an evil scientist messed his insides up, and he grew a single grey wing from his left shoulder, one that was larger than any wing, pegasus or alicorn."

Fluttershy stretched out her wings to look at their size. It suddenly became apparent to Sephiroth that her wings were fragile and petite, and it didn't look like she used them often.

"Soon, another friend, the one who used the big sword, began to feel his shoulder hurt too. Months later, a creamy white wing burst from his right shoulder blade, and believing himself to have become a monster, he fled the army too."

Sephiroth cleared his throat, which suddenly seemed to have stuck itself, and continued.

"The last friend was heartbroken. Leading the army, he tried to find his two best friends in the whole wide world, but to no avail. Instead, another young colt by the name of Zack Fair found them first, and battled them both. The unicorn with the big sword didn't want to live anymore because he would never be able to live as a normal pony again, so he killed himself and gave his sword to Zack, who was his student. Believing the red cloaked pony to be at fault, Zack Fair went to find him."

"Then did he find him?"

"Almost. But the pony in the cloak found the heartbroken unicorn first, and told him that they would still be friends, no matter what. However he had bad news, and he told the pony with the shining eyes that he was probably a monster like them too."

Sephiroth calmed himself down, and then continued.

"The heartbroken colt didn't believe him, and sought the answers for himself. Ss he found the evil scientist, and with his powerful magic they fought, till the scientist told him the truth. He was told, from young, that his mother was named Jenova, that she died when giving birth to him."

Fluttershy's eyes widened.

"The poor thing!"

"But she was very much alive. Because she was the real monster. She had no fur, and her mane was long and silver. Her eyes glowed, but they were pink, and they could kill you if you looked at them. And the scientist told the unicorn that he was a clone of her, that he wasn't even her real son."

Sephiroth sniffed; why had he even told her this story?

"The heartbroken pony grew a dark black wing from his left shoulder. His rage and hate was even deeper than the pony in the cloak. Insane, he called meteors from the sky and burned down a whole town along with the laboratory."

"Eep!"

"Yes, 'eep' indeed. Finally, he crossed blades with Zack Fair, who tried to stop him. Zack won, and he tossed him into a pool of toxic waste, killing him instantly."

He looked at Fluttershy's horrified expression, slightly bemused.

"But this story has a happy ending. Later, Zack fought the pony in the red cloak and killed him, but not before the cloaked pony realized what he did was wrong, and he asked for forgiveness. After he died, the three friends were reunited in heaven, and tasked to look after a beautiful, almost perfect world."

He nudged Fluttershy in the nose.

"Yours."

Fluttershy's eyes widened.

"A poem was what kept their hearts and minds together. Would you like me to read it to you?"

Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically, not in the least bit sleepy.

"_Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess, we seek it thus and take it to the sky…_"

"Twilight, are you alright?"

His sister sat him down on her bed and covered his head up to his shoulders in her duvet. Annoyed, Spike sat back up, only to have a veritable mountain of magazines dumped on his lap.

Twilight sat down too, and her expression turned _deadly_ serious.

"Spike, you and I both know you're a growing boy."

Spike _really_ didn't like where this was going.

"Okay…?"

Twilight tossed him a copy of _Playcolt_ from the top of the stack.

"That's exactly why you should read these more often. The sooner you grow up, the better."

Spike turned the cover to reveal a mare wearing…well…nothing.

"Ugh! I don't think this is a good time, sis…"

Twilight checked her clock.

"Yes, it's late. So SCAT!"

She opened the door and threw him out, followed by the magazines.

"Night night!"

The next morning was pleasant and sunny with just a slight breeze coming in through her open window, but Twilight was neither in the physical nor mental state to appreciate it.

"Twilight!" Her mother called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Today's the university tryouts! I've made you scrambled eggs and toast, so come on down once you've changed!"

"T…today?"

"_I warned you,"_ Celestia mocked, now invisible.

Twilight hurriedly rummaged through her drawers, throwing out all manners of stationery and useless knickknacks like keychains and bracelets till she found a small clear bottle about half-full with pills. Taking several of the clean white tablets, she swallowed them whole, grimacing as a stubborn one dissolved on her tongue, the acrid flavor assailing her tastebuds.

She shook out her voice, coughing and wheezing. But after that, her gaze was more focused, her voice more determined, her hangover gone.

"Let's go. We have an exam to ace. And for the record, Celestia, you didn't warn me."

"_You have to let me have some of that stuff sometime."_

The outside of the university was flocked by stallions and mares of many walks of life, with one unanimously shared goal, to get into the top university in Manehattan, Coltford. With it's seemingly rather sexist name, Coltford was named after its founder rather than the gender identification term, somepony who had served in some sort of royal court as an advisor eons ago. Nonetheless, the university boasted the highest aggregate levels of academic achievement than any other, and was the _alma mater_ of many successful businesspeople and lawyers in Equestria.

"Students, you may begin writing."

The examination hall was as large as it was impressive. Twilight could easily count three rows of fifty long benches, where students sat a meter apart from each other, each writing their own essay. It could have as easily housed thrice the cohort of her highschool day, and Twilight was gratified to see that they were over. Long gone were the times Twilight Sparkle would be talked about behind backs as a cheater and an antisocial by jealous mares, neither would she be stared at in admiration, adulation and often by colts, black lust. Everypony was successful and clever here, and she would fit right in. And besides, she had her Deathnote close to her in her bag, the book giving her a sense of confident security. Nopony would harm her ever again.

_Nopony._

"Student in Row 3, Candidate 114! Sit properly in your chair!"

This snapped Twilight out of her happy daydream, and brought her attentions from there to an alicorn mare who was supposedly "Candidate 114".

She wore a cheap cotton long-sleeved shirt that exposed her slender midsection, and ratty black cargo pants, her cutie mark blocked. She was crouched in her chair in what almost looked like a fetal position, her pen a blur as it skidded across the page at light speed. Clicking her pen so audibly in the suffocating silence of the examination hall, she stood up, startling at least twenty students in a ten meter radius from her spot, to hand up her paper.

She slowly made her way to the front, the crumples in her ten-page essay smoothening out with the blue aura of her magic. She soon passed Twilight, who was sitting at the far edge of her table, and paused for half a second.

Something happened in that meager span of time.

Twilight felt incredibly uncomfortable. She felt like she knew this mare from somewhere, and that she knew her too.

Violet eyes met green for a split second. Time slowed down to standstill.

The mare's eyes darted over to where Celestia was floating, invisible to mortals.

And her mouth moved.

Time began again, and the blue alicorn continued her way to the professor at the head of the room.

"What's your name?"

The mare brushed her mane out of her eyes as she passed up her handiwork.

"Moon River."

The exam, after what felt like an eternity of scribbling and intense thought for others, ended for Twilight surprisingly early, only about two minutes after the mysterious mare. Still, Twilight still had this nagging feeling at the back of her mind about that alicorn; that was giving her a sense of _precaution_ against that mare.

She picked up her phone.

"You've been very well behaved these past few minutes. Was she bothering you too?"

Celestia had suddenly, at some point in the examination, although Twilight suspected she knew _which_ exact point, gone absolutely silent and strangely, lost all her juvenile humor and wit. She just quietly floated next to the holder of her Note, almost like how a specter _would_ behave.

"_Moon River…That's not her real name."_

Celestia said this abruptly, and with no warning whatsoever, alarming Twilight.

"Did you see it above her head? The name?"

Celestia nodded sullenly.

"Do you know her?"

Celestia nodded again, her head droopy.

Twilight thought about this. A mortal whom a Death God knew, recognized and was shaken by…This Moon character was shadier than she thought. A sudden shock of blue caught her eye, and she saw Moon River standing by a tree, reading a book.

She decided to approach her, carefully as even Celestia refused to go near her.

"Hi! I noticed you were extremely fast during the exam. Moon, was it?"

The alicorn mare closed her book, sizing the filly up.

"Are you Twilight Sparkle?"

Feeling slightly awkward due to how forward she was, she decided to make friendly conversation.

"Yes. What book are you reading?"

Moon showed her the cover, then handed her the book.

"Loveless?"

Moon sniffed, and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"It's a classic from a long time ago. You heard of it?"

What Twilight found strange about the book was that on the contents page, a cryptic signature had been written what looked like black marker ink. It read: _"I hope you keep enjoying my poems. Genesis R."_

"That's strange, Moon. I thought Loveless was an anonymous piece."

"_Genesis…Genesis…where have I heard that before?"_

Moon took back the book and put it in his pocket.

"Beats me too. This was the only possession I had before my caretaker took me in. Besides, I have something more important to tell you, Miss Sparkle."

She leaned in, her face expressionless.

"Miss Twilight Sparkle. I am L."

The world cracked into pieces and fell into a pool of inky darkness. Twilight retreated into the midnight annals of her mind's core. In reality, she was just thinking at unimaginable speeds, but to herself and herself only, time stopped.

"_She knows, she knows! Or maybe she doesn't, but by doing this, if I get her real name out of Celestia somehow and kill her, they'll know I'm the culprit! By telling me that this person, if she is really who she is and not another body dummy like the last time, she obviously wants me to take part in the Kira investigation alongside my father, and wait for me to make another blunder then fall right into her hooves! I've been tricked!"_

She stared at the alicorn mare's face. With her princess-esque looks and her cool, calm tone of voice, she looked brutally honest.

_Too_ honest.

"I would like you to be part of the Kira investigation. I have run checks on your grades and feedback from your father says that clearly you are of exceptional intelligence. You may turn me down, but do tell me your answer at the awards ceremony next week."

She spread her wings, and gracefully took off into the deep blue, leaving behind a very angry, confused and afraid Twilight in her wake.

"Mr. Angel, I'd like to tell you a story this time, but it's very short, is that alright?"

Sephiroth looked up from his meal of sliced caramel apples.

"Just Angel is fine. Do tell, Fluttershy."

She looked down at her hooves, and continued in a softer, sadder voice.

"A man killed my family, Angel, just over a month ago. There was no evidence of his crime, and he was set free."

Sephiroth put his plate down on the floor with a clink, listening.

"But Kira found him, and did him justice. He killed him as he was walking out of Supreme Court."

Sephiroth looked over at the book that Fluttershy had placed lovingly in the middle of her desk, surrounded by nothing else but a pen and a set of animal dolls.

"I'm going to become like Kira."

"Excuse me?"

Fluttershy stared at Sephiroth, her eyes blazing with determination.

"I'm gonna become just like Kira, and punish bad guys!"

Sephiroth shrugged. Technically it _was_ her book to use, but…

"Are you sure? Peop-I mean ponies who use that Note can never go to Heaven or Hell, just Nothingness. Are you sure you want that?"

Fluttershy didn't even think about this. She was so sure of the fate she had decided to undertake that she was absolutely certain that she would sacrifice _anything _to be of service to her idol.

"Yes. Nothingness is where you came from, yes?"

Sephiroth nodded.

"Then if I die and go to Nothingness, I'll still be with you, if you went back?"

Fluttershy leaned against Sephiroth's wing, just like she had done so many times.

"Then as long as I'm not alone, I won't mind."

Luna thoughtfully bit into a slice of watermelon, chewing the fruit slowly.

"Anything the matter, milady?"

"Nothing, Blue. I was merely contemplating whether the young lady I met today was indeed Kira."

Blue seemed slightly shocked by this.

"But milady, if you include her in the investigation, then-"

Luna silenced him with an unusually large chomp of watermelon.

"Then," she said through a mouthful of the red fruit.

"It's a risk I'm going to have to take."

"_No, I won't do it. I'm not allowed to."_

Twilight swore in exasperation, and tried one more time.

"Is that all the information you can tell me?"

"_I told you, she was, or looked like at least, someone whom I knew from a long, long time ago."_

Twilight kicked her bedpost in frustration.

"Then why can't you tell me her name? Please, I need to know!"

Celestia took physical form, and sat down next to Twilight after realizing she was crying.

"Honey, look, I'm sorry," she said, suddenly sounding exponentially more mature as Twilight lay down in her lap, her body wracked every few seconds by sobs.

"But if I tell you, the Death King will write my name in his book, and I'll have to leave you all alone, and my Note will burn," she explained gently.

Twilight was completely torn up inside. Her head hit the bed as Celestia returned to her ghostly state, floating above her.

"_Maybe you should talk to your father about the investigation."_

The police station was empty, it being a public holiday. The entire building was silent save for the single receptionist at the counter, whose only job that day was to make sure nopony trespassed, and to play Solitaire on his laptop.

"Excuse me, is Commander Savage in?"

The old pegasus stallion smiled when he saw her, revealing his rows of crooked, slightly yellow teeth.

"Well, if it isn't old Twilight!"

"If there's someone who's old here, it's you, Speed."

The elderly pegasus placed a hoof over his heart, feigning hurt.

"Oh, you just broke my heart, you nasty little filly."

Twilight smiled as always, seeing that the old receptionist's sense of humor was as timeless as usual.

"I'm sorry, but he's not in. He must be at the alternate branch, the one tasked with the Kira investigation."

Just then, an unfamiliar voice pervaded the quiet.

"Excuse me, is Savage in?"

She was a unicorn mare, with a mane that was both navy blue and white.

Speed shook his head sadly.

"I'm 'fraid not, Miss…uh…"

"Romana. My marefriend was one of the twelve deceased FBI agents, Berry Punch. I have her card…"

Speed stopped her, touching her arm lightly.

"My condolences for your loss, Miss Romana, but Savage ain't here. Say, Twilight here is the good Commander's daughter, so why don't you ask her to bring you where he is?"

"Romana" looked at Twilight expectantly.

"It would be my pleasure."

"Thank you, Twilight."

They started walking slowly down the concrete path, the path to the alternative branch about a ten minutes' walk away from Headquarters.

"So, why would you like to see my father?"

Romana paused, and looked at Twilight.

"I have a theory about Kira I would like to share with him."

Twilight's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes? I'm his daughter after all, so why don't you tell me too? I'm trying my best to help in this troublesome case, anyway."

Romana looked hesitant, and then continued, not realizing she was speaking to the real Kira.

"I have this theory that Kira does all his killings from one constant area, and can do it inconspicuously and more importantly, was somepony that the FBI agents were following. I procured the security tapes from the railway station that my marefriend Berry was killed, and I may have a visual of somepony who might be the culprit, although it's fuzzy and I need their technology to sharpen the image. Berry was looking at somepony in a hoodie and sweatpants the moment before she collapsed. And I think Kira can kill in other ways than heart attacks. On a certain bus that my fiancée took, I'm sure Kira was one of the passengers."

Twilight's heart started pounding madly. She indeed was wearing a hoodie and sweatpants the day she killed Berry. She could not allow this information to reach the Commanders.

"That's not all. I also have this theory that Kira was, specifically, somepony who was followed by my marefriend Berry, because she was killed first before anypony else."

Twilight pretended to look impressed.

"My, that's almost the same conclusions that I came to! You're incredible!"

Romana smiled weakly.

"I was an FBI agent too, but I retired because Berry wanted me to be safe."

Twilight gingerly took out the Deathnote from her saddlebag.

"Hold on, just let me get down all you said in my notebook here."

Romana stared at the Note, curious.

"Deathnote? That's an interesting notebook."

"Oh, you think so?"

Twilight quickly came up with an excuse to the Note.

"I have a friend who's into black magic and all kinds of weird stuff. She gave me this for my birthday, but I shouldn't be too concerned about it because of the Great Reckoning, after all."

She started writing.

"_Romana. Died on 4th January 2012. From Regent Street, she walks back to her apartment after bidding a friend goodbye, then, thinking only of her own death, thinks of the best way to commit suicide that won't bother others and making it so that her body isn't found, she dies within the next 48 hours."_

She held the Note by her side, and made casual talk with Romana as she waited in anticipation for forty seconds were up.

Nothing happened.

"_Romana was an alias,"_ she thought to herself.

"_That's why Celestia was smiling throughout the walk from the time she introduced herself."_

She glared at the Death God for a moment, who covered her mouth in false shock, back to her bubbly and essentially insane self.

"_What am I supposed to say? Oh, hi, Romana, that's not your real name, is it?"_

They continued on their walk, till a building with the Equestrian Police symbol displayed on its side slid into view.

Romana wrapped her winter coat around herself, and patted Twilight on the shoulder.

"Well, I'd like to continue on my journey myself. It was pleasant talking to you, Twilight."

Cursed to feel the one-sided tension in the air, all Twilight did was smile and nod.

Watching Romana walk away, Twilight panicked. Then suddenly, an idea struck her.

"Hey, Romana? Could you listen to me for a moment?" Twilight called after her, sprinting to catch up.

"You see, I have a confession to make. I'm actually part of the Kira investigation team, and I'd like to recommend you to my father to join our ranks."

Romana's eyes widened.

The Note still floating by her side, Twilight continued.

"You are a remarkable agent, with amazing cognitive skills. We'd love to have somepony like you in our ragtag little team."

Romana blushed a bit at the praise.

"I don't know…Twilight."

Not taking any risks, Twilight grasped Romana by her shoulders.

"Wouldn't you want to avenge Berry? Wouldn't you want to destroy the scum that killed your one and only?"

All this time, Celestia was laughing, her maniacal screeching resounding in Twilight's ears.

"I'd like to join."

Twilight hugged her warmly, then pulled away.

"You should. However, I'm going to need some identification."

Romana rummaged around in her bag.

"You see," She said, passing her driver's license to Twilight.

"I haven't really been truthful with you either. My real name's Colgate. There, you can see it on my license…"

"_I've won."_

Pretending to take her particulars down, she canceled out "Romana" with two straight lines, signaling to the Note that she was correcting a mistake. Writing "Colgate" down, she put the Note away besides her.

They continued down the road.

"Twilight, why do you keep checking your watch?"

Twilight opened up the Note, and showed Colgate a page.

"Berry Punch, died 30th December 2011, exits the train at Fillydelphia and dies of a heart attack."

Colgate looked puzzled.

"Did you take it down because you're investigating too?"

"No, not really…"

Twilight flipped the page, showing the unicorn mare what she had just written.

"It's because I am Kira."

The second hand of Twilight's watch clicked to twelve.

For a moment, Colgate looked mortified. Then, as if nothing had happened, she turned around and started shuffling away.

"Do you need to call my father, by any chance?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yes, I have more important things to do. Goodbye."

Twilight snapped the Note shut, and watched Colgate slowly walk towards her execution grounds.

_Two Weeks Later_

"Milady. The Commanders have arrived."

Luna crunched on the lollipop she was sucking, and threw the stick out the window.

"Bring them in."

The Commanders sat down on the sofas, noticing that Moon had booked an inexpensive budget hotel this time.

Luna took a sip of her coffee to wash down the candy, and continued.

"The wife of an FBI agent…no…a former FBI agent has disappeared."

The Commanders looked at each other, confused as to why this had anything to do with the Kira case.

"I have deduced that Kira is someone whom Agent Berry Punch was investigating at her time of death."

Blue handed out glasses of fruit juice.

"Commander Spike Savage. I apologise, but I must install surveillance equipment in your household."

The glass in Savage's hand was instantly transformed into a puddle of orange juice on the floor as he powdered the cup in his fist.

"What…did you say?"

Moon hardly looked shaken.

"I said, I need to-"

"I HEARD WHAT YOU DAMN WELL SAID!"

Savage had gotten up, despite Soarin and Rainbow Dash's failing attempts to subdue him before he hurt the delicate alicorn detective.

"Calm down, Commander. I assure you; all footage will be viewed together by the both of us. I merely want to confirm my theory-"

Savage took a deep breath.

"Why…are you suspecting my family?"

Moon picked up a marshmallow from a plate on the table, and tore it in two.

"I'm not accusing them of anything, Commander…"

She put half of the sweet into her mouth and swallowed it whole.

"I'm just proving their innocence."

_One Week Later_

"_Twilight. Twilight. Twiiiiiilight."_

Twilight picked up her phone.

"Hey. Have you got the cameras yet? We're going to the city in the morning, and I wanna take pictures."

"_Twenty-two of them. There are no blind spots, but if you sit at your desk and write names in the Note, they can't see anything you're doing."_

"How about the bug spray? I hate mosquitoes."

"_There are three bugs in the room, no blind spots either, It's impossible to say anything without being heard."_

"That's a shame."

She put down her phone, and stared at the contents of her table,her homework, the Note, a few pencils and a bag of apple chips.

"_With this setup, even if I'm watched, I can still do all this."_

Reaching her hoof into the bag of apple chips, she made just enough room so that she could see the screen of the miniature television. The news channel was on, and criminals' names were being broadcasted as usual.

"_With this setup, I can do my homework on my left and write names on the Note with my right…"_

An apple chip floated from the bag to Twilight's mouth.

"_I can take an apple chip…AND EAT IT!"_

**A/N: Somehow, the potato chip thing never gets old. Shame Light doesn't do it more often. I was bored writing this chapter. Next one will have TONS of shipping, so if that's your thing, good for you. Still no idea who Mello, Near, Higuchi and his lackeys, Weddy and that other guy should be, although I'm seriously considering Rarity, Applejack, Trixie, Cherilee, Gilda, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Big Macintosh and Zecora for these roles. Preferably not Zecora, rhyming is a nightmare. But with these roles and these characters, tell me what you think!**

**SNEAK PEEK FOR CHAPTER 4 (Beware: This chapter contains serious shipping.): Twilight pulled away from the kiss, panting slightly. Fluttershy collapsed forwards, nuzzling into Twilight's chest. "From now on, it's just gonna be the two of us against the world…"**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This fic just got 20% more chapters. What's a fic without the shipping? Celestia ignores what she saw, while Genesis reveals what he knows to Sephiroth. Luna comes closer to solving the Kira case for good, when another dilemma crosses her path, while Twilight has her first kiss. As always, enjoy! And since I forgot the quote in the last chapter, here's one for you now! By the way, whenever I refer to Luna as 'Moon", it's told from a point of view that doesn't know Luna's real name. I KNOW WHO MELLO, NEAR AND HIGUCHI WILL BE. I AM UNSTOPPABLE.**

**-Shadesque**

"_**To the silent beyond!"**_

**-Exdeath, Dissidia: Final Fantasy**

Chapter 5-Reunion

"Milady. Is there anything else I may do for you?"

Luna stared, looking almost unimpressed at the lavish meal Blue had whipped up.

"Three eggs, scrambled with full-cream butter, daffodil muffins with cumin seeds and freshly crushed apple juice with aloe vera pulp…"

Blue picked up a fine-tooth comb from a wooly towel laid upon the dresser, and taking a seat behind his young mistress, he combed her hair, tugging gently at the knots and clumps that her hair formed due to lack of sleep. Each time the comb hit a barrier, Luna bit her lip, wincing at the sting. Expecting physical pain was not something she was well-accustomed to.

"Forgive me, but you must keep up appearances for your part as a student, milady."

Luna scowled, and bit into a muffin. All she could think of was that awards ceremony…

_Flashback_

"_As your valedictorians, we are proud to join your ranks as first-years."_

_Twilight stood besides Luna as they finished their speech, both of them tying for first in the examinations._

_Taking their seats among the students, Luna spoke up first, breaking the awkward silence between the two of them, something she wouldn't have done save the circumstances._

"_Have you considered my proposal?"_

_Twilight patted Luna's hoof reassuringly._

"_I promise you, I'll do my best to capture Kira."_

_Luna raised an eyebrow skeptically._

"_Is that so? In that case, exactly two months from now, you will meet the rest of the team. Let's make you a pleasant surprise, shall we?"_

_A phantom of a smile graced Luna's lips for a second. This would give her enough time to survey her…_

_Flashback end_

"Milady, your school outfit is ready. You may undress after you finish your breakfast."

Blue shut the door behind him, leaving Luna in the privacy of her quarters.

Luna still didn't trust Twilight, but like she once said, Twilight was a risk she had to take.

She glanced momentarily at her uncomfortable-looking school outfit, which consisted of stockings and black dress shoes, a tight white sleeveless shirt with a woolen vest to combat the chilly early spring air, with a matching _extremely short_ plaid miniskirt, which would have exposed the entirety of her hindquarters if not for her unusually voluminous tail.

"If this doesn't make me fit in I don't know _what _will."

Twilight was lining up at the university cafeteria when she heard a few disturbing pieces of gossip from a group of mares next to her.

"I heard she's extremely rich. Look at her! All of her clothes are branded and exclusive!"

"Personally I can't believe she was wearing those _hideous_ clothes at the valedictorian speech. I still prefer Twilight as the top student, though. She looks more suited for success."

"But the mad genius look still suits Moon, somehow. If we wanna be popular, we've to somehow befriend the both of them…"

Twilight saw her highschool days repeating themselves in front of her all over again. Shaking her head, she took her tray of food and sat down next to Moon, who was eating alone, or trying to eat alone at least, for a group of colts were trying, and failing, to hit on her. The purple unicorn found this to be quite similar to several incidents in her life, and sympathized with Moon, although on another very different level they were mortal enemies and polar opposites.

"Hey, Moon." Pushing past the colts, she took a seat right next to her.

One of the colts, a black pegasus leaned forwards. Twilight could feel his warm breath on her neck.

"Howdy. I'm Black Thunder, and I hope I'll be the lucky bastard who takes you out on a date this Saturday. Whadda ya say, cutie?"

Twilight took a second to compose herself; she practically did this every day in highschool.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, and I hope I'll the lucky lady who knocks your teeth out if you don't leave my friend and me alone."

They shrugged, and before walking off, Thunder wrote his name and his number on a piece of paper and placed it next to Twilight's tray.

Luna looked puzzled. She took a spoonful of the whipped cream off the top of her scoop of strawberry sorbet.

"We're…friends?"

Twilight said nothing, just chuckled and dug into her slice of raspberry tart.

"You suppose," She said while chewing her food.

"You'd think it'd be nicer that we'd be…friends…rather than just colleagues, right?"

Luna floated up the cherry from her dessert that she had neglected earlier. With a pop, she sucked the fruit off the stalk.

"Mmm…I suppose so."

They continued to eat in silence, enjoying the company of somepony as smart as each other.

Luna put her spoon down.

"If you're not feeling too full, would you like to play a game of tennis with me?"

The tennis court, for what was supposed to be a quiet, friendly game between two individuals, turned out to look like the Olymponics. Stallions and mares alike were clustered around the fence, cheering their idols on.

"I think Moon's going to win. Look at that _flank_."

"You can see her flank through those baggy pants? Nah, with her wings and her magic, why use her body for anything? Twilight should be the fitter of the two."

"Hey, hey!"

A colt came crashing through the crowd to come to a halt next to his two friends, shoving his iPony in their faces.

"Turns out that Twilight Sparkle was actually the champion tennis player in the Manehattan 2008 junior league!"

"You're kidding!"

Twilight and Luna had changed into tennis gear, Twilight wearing a tight-fitting nylon top with pink track pants with the design of her cutie mark on the right. Luna, on the contrary had just changed into her regular outfit, her long-sleeved shirt and loose cargo pants.

"Let's begin."

What seemed like an ordinary tennis game was but a battle of wits on a monumental scale. Each pony on their respective ends of the court possessed the ability to anticipate each other's actions. They were essentially at a stalemate. The green ball became a blur at it was hit from end to end in an ever-increasing symphony of rhythmic sound.

Luna saw everything.

Every drop of sweat that fell from Twilight's brow, every hoofstep and every swing of the rackets they controlled with their magic…Luna saw everything, and so did Twilight. It was as if they were trying to communicate with each other, as Kira and L.

"_Kira is childish and he, or she, as I expect, hates to lose. Well, it's true that most mentally sane people would like to win instead of lose, but…let's test my theory out…"_

Twilight expertly deflected a curved shot that Luna just made.

Almost.

The ball immediately swerved to make a sharp left when Twilight tried to hit it, bouncing off the ground, earning Luna ten points.

"Did you just…use magic?"

Luna smirked and twirled her racket in a midair spinning flourish.

"En garde."

Twilight charged her racket with purple energy, and hit the ball at Luna. The projectile seemed to split into half, and the two semi-spheroids whizzed at Luna menacingly. Luna was prepared for this, so in a wide sweeping arc, she collected both halves in her racket, then backflipped and hit the now whole ball at Twilight.

The audience whooped and cheered. _Now_ they were getting a show.

Twilight ditched her racket and instead formed one out of her own magic. The racket caught the ball as if the strings were made of elastic. With all her strength, she flung the ball back at Luna, the thrown item flaring up with lavender flames.

Luna smiled, and snuffed out the ball with a simple exhalation of breath, and let it drop to the floor and bounce away.

"I guess you win."

Twilight's tennis top was completely soaked through. They both walked to the net, shaking hooves.

"Good game, Moon."

Luna merely nodded, offering her comparatively dry towel to the unicorn filly.

"Take this. You're exhausted."

Twilight felt the towel dampen and freeze when it touched her neck, and she smiled weakly at Moon, who just dried off her clothes with magic.

"I know a great café near the university premises. Would you like to go for a drink with me?"

"_Sephiroth. Seeeephiiiroth. SEPH!"_

The silver alicorn god rubbed his head, scrunching up his brow.

"Rhapsodos, you put the 'rude' in rude awakenings."

Genesis Rhapsodos was bent over the Seeing-Pool, his head stuck in the swirling eddies of the ethereal silver liquid. From an angle, hilariously, he looked like a giant ostrich wearing a leather coat.

Sephiroth pulled the covers over Fluttershy's sleeping form.

"Shy's sleeping. Is it urgent?"

Genesis laughed.

"_Already thought of pet names, did we?"_

Sephiroth snorted in derision.

"You should hear what pet name she gave me."

"_Anyway, that's not what I came to talk to you for."_

Genesis felt the pent-up words in the back of his skull, the burden he carried on his shoulders about to fall. It was a pleasant feeling, but it was so scary, not knowing the other party's reaction.

"Of course. I suspect this is something related to Loveless, is it? Hold on, I'm going to get a drink…"

Sephiroth manifested his blade, Masamune, an immense katana as tall as his longest hair from root to tip, as sleek as his oily flight feathers and as sharp as his acidic wit. Taking care not to destroy anything in Fluttershy's room, he brought the blade swishing across the air in an upwards slashing movement. In between where the silver weapon touched the floor and ceiling a quicksilver rift opened into a desolate, blasted wasteland. A glimmering light in the distance signified the general location of the Pool.

Unexpectedly, a dune of sand collapsed into the room, sending up a choking cloud of dust. Swearing, choosing to string together a few of the more colorful words he had learnt during his time in the army, he collected the dust into a rigid sphere and threw it into the Nothingness, watching it disappear in the furthest edges of the horizon, before it could disturb Fluttershy's peaceful slumber.

He stepped out into the desert, closing the portal behind him and rendering his weapon intangible and invisible again. With a powerful takeoff the created a small crater in the shifting sands, soaring and rapidly gaining altitude. His horn pulsed, feeding magic to his wing, keeping him aloft.

When he reached the Seeing-Pool, there was no sign of Genesis.

"_So much for surprising him."_

Sephiroth stared at the Pool, with a flowing, slightly distorted image of Fluttershy's room.

"_Wait…distorted?"_

The distortions were bubbles, and they were running thin…

Sephiroth then noticed a leather-sleeved hoof clinging onto a rock. With a heave, he pulled his friend out of the Pool, the latter gasping for air.

"Genesis. Please explain why you were taking a swim in the Pool."

Genesis shook silver liquid out of his hair, which, along with the remnants of the Pool's liquid on his jacket, evaporated into luminescent, thick smoke that formed tentacles of energy, falling back into the Pool.

"I don't know. I was sticking my head in to talk to you, then this rock hit me in the back of my head, then…"

Sephiroth held a hoof to his forehead in apology.

"My bad."

"Right. I need to talk to you because of the Princess."

Sephiroth rolled a rock between his front hooves.

"By Princess you mean…"

Genesis's expression darkened.

"Don't you 'by Princess you mean' me, mister!" He hissed.

"Alright, alright."

Genesis seemed to calm down a little.

"I have a confession to make."

Sephiroth sensed this conversation would end up with Genesis being thrown by him into the Pool again.

"I…knew where she was, when she first dove into the Pool."

Sephiroth's eyes widened, and Genesis assumed a brace position.

"Go on."

Genesis looked up at his fellow Death God.

"You're not going to kill me?"

Sephiroth chuckled, and punched Genesis in the shoulder.

"I made the mistake of hurting my friends once, Gen. I won't make that same mistake again."

Clearly thoroughly relieved his wing was still attached to his shoulder and not lying in a bloody mess of muscle and feathers on the sands, Genesis turned his attentions towards the Pool.

"She was turned into a mortal infant and taken in by an orphanage."

The pool shimmered at Genesis's touch, and displayed a cloudy sky, with rain that relentlessly assaulted a tall, church-like building made of worn red brick. At its foreboding black gates, lay a little cardboard box.

"Would you like to take a look into this memory with me?"

Sephiroth smirked, in spite of his mixed feelings and internal turmoil.

"Sure. You go first."

The cloaked Death God let out a yelp as the One-Winged Angel smacked him from behind with his wing, tossing him head-first into the Pool. Glowing eyes twinkling with amusement, Sephiroth followed suit.

"_The irony,"_ he thought.

The café that Moon had chosen wasn't exactly posh or poor, but they did serve excellent coffee. With each having a cup of the fragrant brew in hoof, they talked.

"Twilight. I might need your help on this one. You have proven yourself to have an identical IQ as I, 180, so you might have a different interpretation of these messages."

Twilight was slid three photographs. At first they looked like graffiti on concrete walls, but Twilight knew better.

_Flashback, One Month Ago_

"_Let's see if this experiment works."_

_Celestia stopped doing pushups on the ceiling and listened._

"_Let's see…Prisoner One died from a heart attack, but not before writing the two messages on the wall exactly as I told her. Prisoner Two," Twilight continued, changing the screen to another security camera directed towards a different cell._

"_Prisoner Two did as I told and wrote message three, but spelled the exact word I told her to spell incorrectly in the same way I specified. Prisoner Three just died today, but not before making twenty-three notches on the wall. This means I can control anypony's actions for up to twenty-three days when I write their names in the Note."_

_The screen of her computer flickered, and changed to another cell, where the inmate just lay dead._

_Celestia was puzzled._

"_There're no notches or words on the wall. Why did he…?"_

_Twilight stroked the Death God's hair, staring at the computer._

"_Prisoner Four was instructed to break out of his cell, kill the President of the United States then die skewered on the top of the Empony State Building, all within five minutes. As expected, he just died of a heart attack."_

_Twilight relaxed in her chair._

'_As for the messages, look at them closely. Look at the first line of each."_

_Celestia squinted at the messages._

"_L…did you know…Death Gods…love apples?"_

_Celestia hugged Twilight, beaming._

"_Aww, you shouldn't have!"_

_Flashback End_

"I can see…the words on the first line of each spell out 'L, did you know Death Gods love apples?'."

Moon scratched her chin, perplexed.

"Yes…yes…I came to the very same conclusion too, sadly."

Her phone rang.

"Excuse me…Oh. I see. Well, that's unfortunate. I'll excuse her, then. Very well."

She switched off her phone and turned back to Twilight.

"I'm afraid your father's in hospital, Twilight. He just suffered from a heart attack this afternoon."

Kicking off her duvet, Fluttershy awoke to silence.

"Hello? Angel? Are you there?"

"DAD! DAD!"

Twilight burst into the ward to see her father hooked up to an IV drip, his face pale as the bedsheets he lay upon.

"It's okay, Twilight. I'm already out of danger."

He flexed a bulging bicep weakly.

"I'll still be fine."

Seeing that Moon was behind her, Twilight decided to put on a little show.

Tears in her eyes, she grasped her father's arm, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'll…I'll get Kira for this, I swear!"

Moon sat down next to Savage, and explained what Twilight meant.

"Commander, you should be very gratified to hear that so far, I have found your entire family innocent. Twilight has expressed her want to assist us in this case, and I have agreed to it. In doing so, I have already removed all wiretaps and all cameras from the house. Do I have your consent to proceed?"

Savage, with a trembling hand, rested it on Moon's hoof.

"I trust you."

Outside the ward, Moon confronted Twilight for the final time.

"I still have a five-percent chance of suspecting you are Kira."

Twilight pretended to be greatly offended, and grabbed Luna by the shoulders just like she id to Colgate.

"Fine! Place me in a prison cell for a month without a phone or television, and see if the killings continue!"

Luna stared deep into her eyes, and then shook off her hooves.

"Alright, three percent it is. I trust you more now. But I'm curious, why would you request to be denied _television_?"

Celestia was currently floating about two meters behind the purple unicorn, but heard this.

"_Oops. Looks like you made a boo-boo."_

"Ve are going live in ten. Good luck, everypony! Time to make the magics!"

A raucous cheer arose from the workers at Apple TV, as they prepared for the newest episode of their world-famous gossip talkshow.

"Photo Finish! Photo Finish!"

The pony in the pink sunglasses and with the silvery-blue bowl-cut mane turned around.

"Vat is eet? Ve vill be starting soon!"

The mare who had hailed the director down was panting and wheezing, her eyes livid with fear. She held up a brown paper bag.

"Miss Finish, these are from Kira."

"Dash, I think we really should be discussing the Kira case."

Rainbow Dash threw the dice on the board, and moved her piece, a silver pegasus, the appropriate number of places.

"Oh, lighten up, Fleur. We can't do anything without L, can we? Soarin, Chance."

Soarin and Dash were playing a Monopoly set they found in one of the hotel cabinets, while Pinkie and Fleur were playing cards.

"The airhead has a point. Your draw, Fleur."

Fleur pulled out a card from the top of the stack.

"Darn, I'm bust. Guess you win again…Pinkie? Are you listening?"

Pinkie was spacing out, tapping her hoof at supersonic speed on the ground.

"It just doesn't make sense."

Dash and Soarin stopped playing and listened in.

"The Colgate I knew and worked with was the kind of mare who would never give up despite the circumstances. Suicide would be a dishonor and an insult to her."

Soarin patted Pinkie on the shoulder.

"There, there, I know it's difficult-"

She swatted his hoof away.

"I don't need your sympathy. But it just doesn't make _sense_…"

Blue interrupted, handing Pinkie a phone.

"Miss Pinkamena, it's for you."

She accepted the phone grouchily.

"Hello. Pinkamena here…What? They're about to broadcast what? I understand."

She hurriedly handed the cell phone back to Blue.

"Apple TV has just received audio tapes from Kira. We need our fastest flier to get to their TV complex and stop the tapes. Soarin, you go."

"But I'm faster-"

Soarin pushed Rainbow Dash back into her seat.

"It's dangerous, Dash. I don't want you to get hurt. Just stay put."

Blue opened the dingy window, and with a running start, the blue pegasus flung himself straight out into the starry night sky.

Minutes passed, followed by hours. Not daring to even get up, they just sat there and drank tea that Blue gave them.

Finally, the stifling atmosphere was broken by Blue's phone ringing. Putting the call on speakerphone, Blue set it in the middle of the desk, where everypony could hear.

"_Do not panic. This is L. The tapes have been safely secured by Commander Savage and I, unfortunately not before they were broadcasted. We're going to pick up the newest member of the investigation team, then head back to the hotel. My condolences, but Soarin…"_

She paused, and Dash broke down into tears, already knowing the answer.

"_Commander Soarin is dead. Turn on the television, I've already paid the hotel extra to give us sixteen channels. Switch to the Channel Eight news."_

The television showed a blurry image of a sky-blue pegasus landing outside the door to Apple TV Incorporated. He slammed and rammed himself into the glass doors till they broke. Just as he was about to storm in, he collapsed on his side, heaving. His body shuddered, and after a few moments of twitching spasms that rocked his body, he lay still.

Dash was now bawling in Fleur's arms, while the latter tried to calm her down, murmuring soft words of encouragement to the distraught pegasus and caressing her cheek.

The doors burst open, and Savage and Moon entered, along with an unfamiliar face.

Seeing how everypony in the room was staring at her except for the crying pegasus being hugged by the lilac unicorn, she quickly bowed in introduction to her new "comrades".

"Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

_Flashback, Half An Hour Ago_

"_I didn't do that."_

_Celestia shook her head._

"_My faithful student…it seems that this Kira has the eyes. Death's Eyes cannot perceive the lifespan of those bonded with Notes, so you had better hope this killer is on your side."_

_Twilight quickly stuffed a page of the Note in her saddlebags. _

"_Then I had better join the Kira investigation team too. They could be just what I need to find Kira Number Two."_

_Flashback End_

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Genesis landed with the corner of Loveless threatening to puncture his kidney again, just before Sephiroth landed on _top_ of him, pushing the book further up his abdomen.

"Get…off….me!"

Sephiroth, who had a comparatively softer landing, righted himself up with two simple flaps of his wing, while Genesis clumsily clambered back onto all four feet.

"We'll call it a day here. I guess the Pool doesn't let us scry Death God-related mortals unless we know what they look like, after all."

Genesis summoned his blade, Rapier, a sword with a beautifully designed guard and hilt, intricately carved in the image of silver leaves and black feathers, a top-grade sapphire set in the base of the weapon. Swinging the blade, which was made of metal the same shade as his beloved cloak, he slashed open a portal to the mortal realm, and disappeared through it in a swish of fabric and red smoke.

"Twilight, please listen to these tapes and tell me what you think."

Luna inserted the tapes into a player, as the entire room waited in hushed anticipation.

"_Umm…Citizens of Manehattan…I am Kira. I am the one who killed that blue pegasus at Apple TV. I'm very, very sorry for what I did, and I know you can't forgive me for killing him but you have to hear me out. What Kira wants is for the world to be at peace, a world without criminals. And Kira will not harm those who are righteous, yet I will stop those who get in his…I mean my way."_

The occupants of the room were completely gobsmacked. They couldn't believe Kira could be…could be…

"I, personally, can't believe this Kira be this naive," Twilight proclaimed.

"The Kira we were after was cocky, confident and smart, unlike this meek, honest and shy Kira we have just met," Luna continued.

"There is a chance that this Kira was a fabrication of the original Kira, but Twilight, this was a test of your analytical skills. Now I am sure of two things-that you are not _this _Kira, and there are at least two Kiras running around Manehattan killing ponies. Now, my plan is to formulate, and to create a fake reply to this Kira in an attempt to lure her out. Twilight, I will hand this job to you."

"I don't understand, how would you know this was a 'her'?" Fleur asked.

Luna sighed.

"As L, I have used voice filters for several years," she explained.

"The voice filter I used has seven tiers, my voice being run through several sounds to change it, such as animal growls and echoes. This voice has only been run through a two-tiered filter, therefore I can say with absolute certainty that this Kira is female."

_Three Days Later_

"Angel, Angel, look at the TV!"

Sephiroth hadn't seen Fluttershy this excited since she sent the tapes to the TV station.

"_Citizens of Manehattan. I am the real Kira. The broadcast you listened to three days ago was an impostor, and I am greatly displeased. I will ruthlessly eliminate anypony who gets in my way, and you know it. If you are on my side, then please meet me at the Fountain Plaza at anytime on the twenty-first."_

A week from then, the Plaza would be evacuated of any civilians and replaced by the entire Equestrian Police force, which Savage had convinced to return just for one operation. Twilight would pose as Kira, while the Commanders would loiter around the designated meeting spot, waiting to move in.

A few hours later, Twilight was meeting the producer of Apple TV, who wasn't exactly pleased to see five police officers knocking on her office door.

"You don't understand! At Apple TV, ve try our best to make ze MAGICS! Vatever ze audience vants, zey get!"

Twilight facehooved…this was getting nowhere.

"Umm…If I'm not bothering you, may I come in?"

A yellow pegasus filly wearing a frilly, lacy white dress poked her head in through a crack in the doorway.

"Ah, Fluttershy! My latest young talent!"

"Umm…I was just wondering, Miss Finish, whether the new dress is ready for my new lipstick commercial…"

Now completely ignoring the police-ponies, Photo Finish addressed Fluttershy solely.

"Ah, eet is in ze Costume and Design office, just _vaiting_ for you to vear eet. Go on!"

"Oh, alright…whoops!"

She tripped and fell over the dress, and the contents of her bag spilled all over the place, revealing lipstick, her wallet, several compacts and a _strange black notebook_.

Bending down to help her pick her things up, Twilight was just about to touch the book, then…

"Aah! No, no, it's alright," Fluttershy said, her eyes not even meeting the purple unicorn's, as she snatched the notebook away from under her hoof.

"Umm...sorry if I sounded rude, I really don't like other people touching my things, umm…"

She looked up at Twilight's face, and then above her head. A look of wild glee overtook her soft features for a mere fraction of a second, after that she receded into her usual downcast stare.

"If that's alright, I'll be going now…" 

She shut the door behind her gently.

"_I think I saw what you saw, Twilight." _Celestia said, confirming her suspicions.

"R.D.," she said to the youngest member of the team, whom she hit off with quite well with after their introduction.

"I'm not really feeling well. Is it alright if I head home first?"

"Yeah," She said. "We'll keep questioning Little Miss Frou-Frou here, and you go home and get some rest, alright? We have a big operation in a week's time, and you're our star performer."

"Will do. Thank you, Rainbow."

"Genesis. Are you there?"

Genesis was walking along a cool beach, where seagulls cawed and flew in circles around endless stretches of golden sand that faced a sea so calm it looked like a gargantuan sheet of aquamarine glass.

"GENESIS!"

With a flap of his wing, Genesis dispelled the illusion, the sea turning to rock and the golden sands to ashen and parched desert.

"Way to kill a guy's daydream, Sephiroth. I wish Angeal was here to shut you up."

Sticking his head into the semisolid material of whatever the Pool was made of, which, coincidentally, happened to only be several steps away from where he initially was, Genesis tried to contact his friend.

"Great news, we just found Celestia's Deathnote and her contracted mortal."

Twilight jumped onto her bed face-first with headphones, trying to ignore Celestia's nagging.

"But Twiiiilllliiiiight! If she was the book carrier, you'd have the Death's Eyes to yourself!"

"And what if she isn't? What if that black notebook's just an ordinary ledger? I'd have to kill her and somepony as innocent and as cute as that Fluttershy doesn't deserve to die just because she knows my secret."

Celestia swooped down, and like a hawk, took Twilight's headphones off.

"Hey!"

Celestia deposited the headphones on the desk.

"Whatever you touch, I can too. And besides, admit it, Twilight. You like that Fluttershy, don't you?"

Twilight looked away in embarrassment.

"Alright, maybe a little…"

"Yippee!"

Celestia started doing little cartwheels around Twilight's room.

"Twilight has a marefriend! Twilight has a marefriend!" She taunted sing-song voice while spinning.

"Twilight! You have a guest!"

As Twilight walked down the stairs, a single thought rushed through her head over and over.

"_Please don't be L."_

To her relief, and even more to her surprise, Fluttershy was standing at the door.

"I'm Twilight's friend. May I…?"

She caught sight of Twilight.

"Twilight, I brought my notebook. May I come in?"

Just then, Spike started pointing his finger at Fluttershy and jumping up and down.

"I…I know you! You're Fluttershy, Photo Finish's new actress! It's an honor!"

Twilight gaped at Spike.

"How…would you know that?"

Spike blushed and looked at his feet.

"Those magazines you gave me when you were drunk. She was on the cover of _Filly Forever._"

Twilight beckoned Fluttershy to come in, shutting the door behind her. They walked up the steps to her room, and after Twilight checked nopony was eavesdropping, she sat Fluttershy down on her bed.

"Talk. What notebook are you referring to?"

Fluttershy pulled out the very same book that Twilight had seen that afternoon. It was identical to Twilight's own Note in every way, except the cover said "_Angeal_".

"Uh…You write somepony's name in it, and then they die in forty seconds."

She then fell to her knees and grabbed Twilight's waist, as she was sitting in her chair.

"Please, I know you're Kira!" She said, burying her face in Twilight's fur.

"Kira punished the colt who killed my family. You've done so much for me…I…I…"

Twilight couldn't help but blush a little at Fluttershy as she stared up at her with her huge, soulful green eyes.

Sighing, Twilight took her own Note and offered it to Fluttershy.

"Here, touch mine. It'll let you see Celestia."

Fluttershy cocked her head to a side.

"Your Death God is a girl?"

Nonetheless, she touched the book, and her jaw dropped when she saw Celestia.

"You're…you're so pretty! I'd never imagined a female Death God would be so beautiful!"

Celestia giggled at the praise.

"I like this one."

"Here," Fluttershy held her book out.

"Touch mine! Touch mine!"

"HOLD IT!" Celestia yelled, making Fluttershy drop the book.

Turning to Fluttershy, the regal Death God questioned her.

"Is your Death God's name Sephiroth or is he Genesis?"

Genesis…there was that mysterious name again. But Twilight chose to ignore that for now.

"Seph…Se…Sephiroth. But I call him Angel, cause it's easier to say. Who's Genesis?"

Celestia heaved a sigh of relief.

"He's an annoying prick, but a wonderful poet."

Invisible behind Fluttershy, Sephiroth sniggered.

"_Genesis…poet…where have I seen or heard those things before?"_

Twilight was distracted by Fluttershy's Note falling into her lap. Instantly, the silver God appeared behind his young ward.

"You must be Twilight," He said in his deep, masculine voice.

"I've heard a lot about you from-"

"SEEEEEEEPH!"

Celestia glomped Sephiroth, sending them both spinning through the left wall. A second later, Celestia was thrown back into the room, while Sephiroth floated in, flapping his black wing, sword in hoof.

"Never again will you try that."

Celestia smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her head.

"Sorry…I just haven't seen you for such a long time…"

Sephiroth's sword disappeared, but he still looked wary and apprehensive. Attempting to piece back the shards of his pride, he straightened out his messed-up hair by washing a wave of black energy through it.

"I'm sorry, but is it alright if the two of you leave us alone for a minute or two?"

"Alright!" Celestia replied, a little too brightly and a little too quickly. She dragged a groaning Sephiroth out the window, laughing gleefully to herself, chanting 'Twilight has a marefriend'.

Twilight's eyes turned to Fluttershy, who strangely now wore a blush as red as her carpeting.

"If…if…this is kinda sudden…I…I…can understand…but I kinda…sorta…have a crush on you, Twilight."

This day just got better and better.

Twilight felt like this was the first time she was being wholly honest to somepony.

"Well, Fluttershy…I kinda like you too. But not as Kira, I swear! I really find you…"

Their lips got closer and closer with each word.

"Really…really…cute…hhhhmmmmmmmpppphhhhhh…"

The kiss was tentative and light at first, but as they familiarized themselves with how each other smelled, felt and _tasted_, the kiss became more and more intense, till Twilight actually slid off her chair to pin Fluttershy against the wall.

However, all good things have to come to some end, and Twilight pulled away from the kiss, panting slightly. Fluttershy collapsed forwards, nuzzling into Twilight's chest.

"From now on, its just gonna be the two of us against the world…"

On the roof, Sephiroth and Celestia lay down looking at the sky, talking.

"So, what's that constellation?"

"Ursa Major. Or Gemini, I can't be really sure."

Celestia traced the constellation with her hoof.

"It looks like a beheaded monkey to me."

Sephiroth just had to give one of his rare smiles at her eccentric sense of humor.

"Yes, I suppose The Beheaded Monkey sounds a lot better than Gemini, doesn't it?"

Celestia turned towards her friend.

"Don't you feel uncomfortable too with the fact that the two girls are probably having sex right now below us?"

Sephiroth's cheeks flushed for a moment, then he regained his composure as easily as killing a fly. He was trained for this, after all, by being forced to listen to Loveless while repressing the savage urge to disembowel the poet.

**A/N: Don't you? This was such a happy chapter too…Too bad all good things have to come to an end. I have a fantastic idea for the Higuchi arc, so stay with me till the Misa arc is over, which it will be soon. More laughs will ensue, so trust me on this one! A clue to Mello and Near's identities-They are _actual_ sisters in the show. Take a guess! Keep reading! Keep reviewing! Also, after this one I may be starting one of these three projects-A MLP Code Geass crossover like this one (WITH LUNA AS LELOUCH EEEEEEEEEEE), a Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni MLP AU, or a MLP Dissidia: Final Fantasy crossover. In fact, along with the sneak peek for Chapter 6, I'll include previews for all of them.**

**AU 1-Code Geass: The Solar Empire has left the world ravaged by hate and war, especially in Area 11, once referred to as "Equestria". Princess Luna Vi Equestria of the Solarian Royal Family tries to stop it after receiving a strange power from a stranger mare.(Main Characters: Princess Luna (Main Protagonist, Lelouch Vi Britannia) Princess Celestia (Main Antagonist, Emperor Charles) Rainbow Dash (Main Antagonist/Protagonist, Suzaku Kururugi) Twilight Sparkle (Main Protagonist, C.C.)) SOME GORE. NOT VERY SHIPPY, BUT ZERO LUNA MAKES UP FOR THAT.**

**AU 2-Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni: Twilight Sparkle moves into Ponyville, a quiet little town where awkward at first, she makes friends easily. However, there is a hidden curse, and every year at the Summer Sun festival, somepony dies…Unraveling the mystery, Twilight eventually finds out her new friends are not as simple as they seem…Main Characters:(Twilight Sparkle (Main Protagonist, Maebara Keiichi) Applejack (Main Protagonist, Houjou Satoko) Big Macintosh (Side Protagonist, Houjou Satoshi) Pinkie Pie (Main Protagonist, Sonozaki Mion) Pinkamena Diane Pie (Main Antagonist, Sonozaki Shion), Rarity (Main Protagonist, Ryugu Rena) and Fluttershy (Main Protagonist, Furude Rika). GORE AND HORROR THEMES. TONS OF FANSERVICE AND SHIPPING. BUT LOTS OF GORE. **

**AU 3-Dissidia: Final Fantasy: The Goddess Of Harmony, Celestia. The God of Chaos, Discord. Each have selected six warriors, cut from a cloth not unlike the kind that the fabric of time and space is fashioned from…Born into a new world with no memory of their past, they begin a life of endless battle anew… Main Characters:(On Harmony's Side: Twilight Sparkle, Big Macintosh, Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Pinkie Pie, Rarity. On Chaos's Side (Corresponding): Nightmare Moon, Applejack, Zecora, Rainbow Dash, Pinkamena Diane Pie, Trixie.) LOTSA SHIPPING.**

**SNEAK PEEK FOR CHAPTER 6: The family sat across from each other across the table, although the distance between them was merely less than a meter apart, in reality they were just cruel-minded businessmen and businesswomen, each for his or her own. "Ah'm telling yer, Gramma, we should get a'rid of that CEO of Next Fashion. Their market sales, it's scary, I tell ya." "SILENCE, you little varmint! Yer be next if yer don't know how to shut it, Apple Cobbler!" "Calm down, Granny. You don't wanna ta bust another vein, do ya?" The elderly mare in the black dress hacked and coughed, her fragile frame agitated by her temper tantrum. "Yer always know how ta push her but'ns, don't ya, Applejack?" The smartly dressed lady executive in the ponytail smiled. "Of course, Golden Delicious. Big Mac, do ya agree to Cobbler's _reeediculous _proposition?" She turned to her older brother, the muscular colt in the fedora and suit, chewing a sprig of wheat. "Nope." "Well, that's settled, then. Now, ladies and gentlecolts, who shall we have Kira kill next?"**

**Quote Of The Day: **

"_Regret will not turn back time."_

_-Ultimecia, Final Fantasy VIII _


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Well, it feels kinda refreshing to start writing again after my Lunar New Year break. Sue me, I'm part Chinese. School's started (AND MY UNIFORM IS HIDEOUS BLEEEEH), and I'm gonna try to do as much writing as possible before it gets busy. Happy *late* Lunar New Year to those who celebrate it, and now for the next exciting chapter in this series. MAJOR LUNA REVELATION HERE! READ CAREFULLY! More shipping! More Kira! This might be the third or second last chapter before ALTERNATE ENDING 1, so keep reading! A teensy bit of TwiLuna in here! Spoilers for the very end of ALTERNATE ENDING 1 and 2-It will have a _VERY _surprise ending which may lead to a _canon sequel_.**

**-Shadesque**

Chapter 6: Loving You Forever

"_Twilight. Twwwiiiiiilllllllllliiiiight. Twiiiiiiiiilllllliiii-"_

"Alright, alright, I'm awake! It's 3 a.m. in the morning, Celestia!"

Twilight pushed Fluttershy's limp body off her chest where the pegasus hit the pillows face down with a soft snore. She really was a heavy sleeper.

"_We apologise for interrupting your slumber, Miss Sparkle, but unfortunately I must speak to you regarding Fluttershy. That and your Death God has been driving me crazy, and you can have her back."_

Sephiroth appeared in the room along with Celestia, his wing raining down an ebony blizzard of black feathers that disappeared upon ground contact with every flap of the giant construct.

Twilight was flabbergasted, her face turning beetroot red.

"You…you were _watching_?"

Sephiroth looked away, showing off the angular curves of his face.

"I'm afraid not, but Celestia here, understandably, was very tempted to indulge in the partaking of viewing your…activities, so I assumed that it was crucial that I made her leave you both alone for a good four hours. Now, onto the main topic."

He took a seat at the foot of Twilight's bed, and folded his wing up. His eyes suddenly seemed to glow in the semi-darkness of Twilight's room, the catlike slits that were his pupils narrowing.

"Do you know, Miss Sparkle, how to kill a Death God?"

Before she could answer, Sephiroth's wing snapped open and his horn sparked. The room around her dissolved into grey, the bed, the book shelf, even Fluttershy became sand and stone while the ceiling opened up to a night sky free of stars. She was still with Celestia, and they gazed upon a strange body of water in the midst of the wasteland, like an oasis, except that the substance it contained swirled and fizzed with a strange silvery energy. Crouched over the pool, was another giant alicorn like the two Death Gods. He was stocky and very well muscled, with a black, oily, slicked-back mane that was fell just short of his shoulders. Opposing his overall dark appearance, from his shoulder sprouted a single white wing. Besides him, a great sword was stabbed into the ground.

He was then approached by two others, and with a start, Twilight realized she was staring at a younger Sephiroth and his friend, a strange Death God that donned a red coat.

"_Today's the day, huh?"_ She heard the clothed Death God say.

"_Yeah,"_ The black alicorn replied, his voice gravelly and thick with emotion. _"She was so beautiful, too."_

"_Don't try anything stupid,"_ The young Sephiroth said in a voice noticeably higher than his current one. _"You know what Celestia said, you'd die a true Death if you saved her from this fate."_

The black-haired God was now crying, but his tears, instead of falling from his intelligent blue eyes into the silver spring, floated on the surface like pearls fashioned out of crystal.

"_I'm sorry. I have no choice."_

He began writing in a book he held next to him.

Both the other Gods' eyes widened, and young Sephiroth formed his blade out of thin air.

"_Well, don't just stand there, Rhapsodos, stop him from writing the name!"_

The colt in the jacket, presumably "Rhapsodos", summoned his sword too, and started chanting a spell, several runes across his blade lighting up. He lunged, but the black alicorn was faster and knocked the sword to the ground.

"_Stars…Rain down!"_

The deathly silence of the black sky was broken by several asteroids wrapped in fluorescent green flame descending towards their target at an astonishing speed.

"_My, my, Sephiroth. Using Meteor already? Kudos to you for mastering that spell, by the way. The first time you tried that here, by the time the rocks reached the ground, they were the size of pebbles."_

"_Thank you for your praise, but I don't think you'll enjoy being hit by these things. Float me the book, Angeal, and nopony gets hurt."_

Angeal laughed again, dropping his sword as he bent over, his mop of hair falling back over his face.

"_Nopony? You've spent too much time in this world, Sephiroth. You've lost your human heart."_

"_Enough! Give me the book, Angeal!"_

When Angeal lifted his head back up, his expression was different. Ignoring the several blazing monoliths that were headed towards him, he let a genuine, happy smile wash over his craggy face. He picked up the sword again, and pressed his lips against the cold steel. The feathers on his wing began to harden and become clear, and like a raging infection, the crystallization spread from his wing to his leg to his chest to his mane, till it paused for a minute, after it had sealed his eyes shut, leaving only his mouth mobile.

"_I'm sorry. I would want to save her from that stalker, even if it were to break my pact. It will allow her to live for another thousand years, and to find somebody perfect for her. Or somepony, as the two of you would say."_

As he said this, his smile never faded, still as bright and optimistic as ever.

"_You know, her name is Fluttershy. Take care of her for me. I'm sorry I can't stick around. I'll see you all in heaven again someday."_

Just before the spell hit him, he blew away. It was a beautiful yet terrible thing to watch, as his mane seemed to billow out and fade away in the breeze. With great difficulty, the younger Sephiroth dissipated Meteor, intent on saving his friend. The two alicorns bounded over in three great leaps assisted by their wings, only to find the Buster Sword rusted and tarnished as though it was neglected for millennia, and Angeal's Deathnote half-buried in a heap of diamonds.

The scene blacked out, and Twilight found herself back in the warm security of her room. Badly shaken, she quickly wrapped herself up in her covers and cuddled up to Fluttershy, quivering.

"What…what was the point of making me see all that?" She asked, not daring to open her eyes. A chill had set into her spine, and no amount of breathing in the aromatherapeutic fragrance of Fluttershy's well-groomed fur served to purge it.

Sephiroth, glad that he got the desired effect, deigned to speak first.

"It means, Miss Sparkle, though I see you as a friend, not a foe, I will not hesitate to kill you if you endanger Fluttershy's life." For the first time in Twilight's presence, Sephiroth made his own Note appear, unlike Angeal's and Celestia's Notes, his was in the form of a leather-bound hardcover book, with an illegible title made of strange symbols.

"I will write your name in this book, and we'll _both _die. But no pressure," he joked, laughing nervously at how deathly afraid the purple unicorn looked.

_Three Days Later_

"_This is the second Kira. I…I've heard your message, and I think you're…right. Kira might kill me once I reveal his identity, so I've decided to take your advice. However, I am still a staunch supporter of Kira…and I will continue to support him and his mission…"_

Luna shut off the television, and swiveled around in her chair to face her investigation team.

"Well, that third one was unexpected."

Rainbow Dash slammed her can of soda against the table, flattening it, her wings flared out in agitation.

"Not only was our Fountain Plaza operation a flop, Pinkie was sent to the Accident and Emergency section too…"

_Flashback_

"_Alright, everypony, let's get into position here." Commander Pinkamena shouted over the din of the entire force scrambling into position._

"_Okay, you with the stack of nets. A little bit to the right…no, a little bit more leftish…no, tiptoe, tiptoe! The target is going to see you like that! Yes, yes, a tiny smidge towards me…be careful, that's an electric net you're holding…No, NONONO! TOO CLOSE! DON'T FALL! AAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

_Flashback End_

Fleur put down her teacup and took a seat right next to Luna, whose hoof was still trembling.

"Moon, dear, are you alright? You still seem quite shaken after that second message she sent that night…"

_Flashback_

"_This is the second Kira. If you still want to meet me, you can confirm this by revealing your Death God to me…if you want to, that is, and I'll do the same."_

"_Death…Gods?"_

_Luna was gripping the arms of her chair, sweating profusely. The leg of the piece of furniture gave way, and she tumbled to the ground, letting loose a loud yelp as the corner of a table caught her in the shoulder. Hurriedly, Blue helped her into another chair, handing her a glass of water to boot. _

"_I…don't understand? Am I…expected to believe that Death Gods exist?"_

_She turned towards the team, and she noticed Twilight looked incredibly uneasy as well. _

"_Perhaps it refers to the method which they kill. Our prisons are fully shielded with magic, so no spell can enter or exit, plus we've double-checked the four main magic inhibitors installed in all prisons. Kira cannot be acting from inside, so how…?" Fleur was considering all the options which Kira could use magic to kill, however there was absolutely no way Kira would be able to kill prisoners even if he or she was a top-grade alicorn or unicorn mage._

_Luna groaned, and got off her chair._

"_I'm sorry. This is far too much information for me to take in all at once…I must rest. Meeting adjourned."_

_Flashback End_

"These Death Gods…what do you think, Twilight?"

Twilight was calmly enjoying a cup of tea. "These Death Gods may be some sort of device that allows Kira to breach magical shields to kill using magic. There is no way it can be a magical item, we all know that kind of magic was killed ages ago."

Luna nervously stared at her tail, trying to make sense of what the second Kira meant.

"No matter. I have just received a message that our Earth Pony division Commander has just woken up from her rather unfortunate coma. Let us go visit her, and bring her back here."

"Oh, _confound_ this Pool."

Genesis took another deep breath, and was just about to jump when instinct made him flinch at the thought of being thrown out again.

Steeling himself, he set one foot in the pool again, only to recoil sharply.

"I _can't_ give up now."

Luna and Twilight lead the three remaining Commanders down the spotless hospital hallway. The air reeked of plastic and artificially scented, sickly-sweet lemon air-freshener, meant to hide the cloying stench of decay that usually accompanied patients in the Accident and Emergency wards. Just before they were about to enter Pinkamena's room, a doctor stopped them, and quickly shoved them into the adjacent room, which just happened to be his neurology laboratory.

"I am truly sorry for interrupting your visit, but as Miss Pie's doctor, I must inform you about her condition in case what you see gives you a nasty surprise."

The doctor's glasses were crooked and his mane frazzled-it looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

He put several x-ray shots of Pinkamena's head onto an illuminated board, and pointed out several parts of the brain with his pen.

"Due to her being electrocuted in several places by an unusually high but not yet lethal voltage, it has severely damaged her brain's frontal lobe, resulting in…well, it hasn't affected her intelligence, she still has an IQ of a hundred and ninety…but…"

He sat down in his chair, and crossed his front legs.

"Well, I'm going to play traditionally here, and so I'm going to tell you I have good news, and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

Rainbow Dash, although just as afraid as everypony else present, decided to ask first.

"The…good news?"

The doctor slapped a picture of three balloons on a pink background onto the board.

"She got her cutie mark."

"Well, that's great!" Fleur exclaimed. "But…why three balloons?"

The doctor stood up, and opened the door, ushering them out.

"That's the bad news. Now, good day."

The five now stared at the door to Pinkamena's ward, and wondered what kind of malevolent evil related to three balloons lurked behind it.

"Maybe she likes to blow balloons and shove them up ponies' nostrils," Dash suggested.

"Don't be silly, they're called _cutie_ marks for a reason," Savage replied.

"Maybe she just realized she likes balloons," Fleur suggested, ever the nice one.

"Cutie marks are meant to show exceptional talent in one field or another, be it literally or figuratively," Luna explained. "Three balloons could mean…anything."

"Let's just find out," Twilight said, pushing the door open.

"HOLY CRA-"

"SURPRISE!"

One couldn't even consider the room a hospital ward anymore. Streamers were draped from the ceiling, and bunches of multicolored helium balloons floated from all corners of the room. The bedside table was groaning with the weight of several pies, cakes and biscuits piled upon it.

They couldn't even recognize Commander Pinkamena either. Her hair was frizzed up and curly, and her once grey eyes were now clear blue.

_Electric_ blue.

The cutie mark of three balloons, sure enough, now decorated both her flanks, and even as the new patrons to her private party gawked and gasped at what they saw, Pinkamena bounced up and down on her bed, evidently overjoyed that her guests had finally arrived.

"HIIIIIIII! Ooh, I'm SOO happy you finally got here! You know, I threw this party _especially_ for you guys! Those meanie-weenie doctors kept on insisting that I stay in bed, but it feels SO AWESOME to get my cutie mark at last! Yup, Pinkie Pie is now better than ever!"

Savage clearly had his socks knocked off.

"…Party?"

Fleur was amazed, yet inexplicably confused.

"…Pinkie Pie…? Are you alright, sweetie?"

Twilight was astounded at the monumental personality change.

"…Meanie-weenie?"

Dash was just plain stunned.

"Oh, catch me, I think I just died and went to hell."

Luna just kept silent and nodded. True, cutie marks did bring along personality and psychological changes over time, but this was just ridiculous.

"_I wonder…is she still suitable for the investigation, or is she…hmm…she looks too hyper to sit still for even a minute…"_

"I HAVE PRESENTS!" Pinkie abruptly proclaimed.

"Just between us," she said, lowering her voice.

"I actually woke up a day earlier than they thought. Those silly-billies are always so busy, so I took off the IV drip," She explained, pointing at the metal stand that held the drip bag. The tube from the drip ended on the floor in a puddle of clear fluid and a needle.

"And I used one of the hospital sheets and that needle from the drip to sow up that dummy," She said, pointing to a disturbingly detailed life-size doll of herself, complete with a stitched face and a mane and tail made of thread dyed bubblegum pink.

"What did you use..?"

Pinkie pointed now to forgotten bulge at the base of a curtain in a dusty corner of the ward.

"Ten bottles of cherry flavored cough syrup."

She looked at her colleagues, and her smile seemed to soften a little.

"I know I've been really mean to you guys in the past, and I'm really, _really _sorry for all the stupid things I've said and called you. But I'm not Miss Pinkamena-Bossy-Pants anymore, just good ol' Pinkie Pie, alright?"

Fleur, naturally, was the first to react. She pulled Pinkie into a tight hug, and even kissed her on the cheek, an act that would have cost her life a week ago.

"It's alright. I forgive you. Isn't that right, guys?" Fleur glared at the rest of the investigation group over Pinkie's shoulder with a stare that said_ "Agree with me, or face my wrath."_

Dash and Savage looked at each other uneasily, and conceded defeat.

"Yeah…I guess it's okay if you promise to be nice."

Savage patted Pinkie on the head, grinning good-naturedly.

"I've always found you an extremely efficient agent…Pinkie, but you were always at loggerheads with your fellow workers. I see that this injury was as much as for good as it was for worse."

Pinkie squealed, and somehow conjured a stack of presents wrapped in loudly colored wrapping paper that looked suspiciously like painted bandages.

"Oh, oh, I have a bottle of _Heaven_'s newest scent for Fleur, I know how much she likes that brand…A collapsible set of wing-training weights for Dashie, some scale-polishing lacquer for you, Commander, and a mobile iPony charger for Twilight. Sorry, I don't really know you so I couldn't get anything _super_ personalized, just that I know you use your iPony a lot so I guessed that would make a good gift."

As the Kira investigation team thanked the pink earth pony and tried out their gifts, Pinkie grabbed Luna by the shoulders, making the alicorn jump.

"Moon…"

Pinkie slipped a photo album into Luna's saddlebag discreetly, making sure nopony was listening in.

"These are some photos I took outside the Sparkle residence, three days ago. You see, in actual fact my coma had only lasted for half a day, so I snuck out that evening to check on Twilight. I think you might find these…interesting."

_One Day Later_

"Class dismissed!"

The students filed out of class quickly and in an orderly fashion except for those choosing to remain to do their homework, making it a pleasant change in pace to Twilight, who was often subject to the annoying and sometimes insufferable pressure of the sudden courage to ask her out colts received when the school bell rung.

Noticing Moon was sitting in the row behind her, Twilight decided it would be best to make conversation.

Moon, as usual, was eating something sweet, this time a jumbo rainbow lollipop.

"Done your homework?"

It was interesting how Moon's voice sounded so monotonous and tired on one scale, yet carried an impressive air of intelligence, femininity and superiority on another.

"Yes, I suppose so."

She floated a sweet out of her pocket, and offered it to Twilight.

"Lollipop? It's apple, your favourite."

Twilight accepted the token of friendship, her expression wry.

"Please don't do the '_I know everything about you_' act too often, it gets creepy."

Mirroring Twilight's expression, Moon gave her lollipop another lick. For once, she actually looked mischievous.

"Well, I can't say I know _everything_ about you _now_, because I don't know your most private of matters, your _ovulation cycle_, for example. But give me adequate time and resources…"

"Oh, _stop it_!"

They walked down the hallway, lollipops in hoof, chatting away like two old friends. True, Twilight could never bring herself to truly befriend the alicorn, but if this kept up, she might even feel _guilty_ about eventually having to kill Moon.

"Umm…Twilight, is that you? I hope I'm not bothering you or anything…"

Twilight's heart dropped like a rock when she saw who was standing in front of her.

"_Nooooo! I told you not to find me! I told you…Oh, holy mother of…Oh, please don't make me do this…"_

Celestia grinned at Twilight's inner trepidation.

Twilight went straight into hyper-speed thinking mode.

"_Wait. If she's here, then she can tell me Moon's name! Then I can kill her before I…I…"_

"_Fall in love with her?"_

Twilight glared at Celestia.

"_No. The one I love is Fluttershy. I just…don't feel comfortable killing somepony whom I can relate to. Somepony who…"_

"_Understands you,"_ Celestia completed her unfinished sentence.

"_Twilight, dearest. There are several reasons as to why you need to kill her, but just so you know, her real name and appearance…well, I have to admit it's been quite some time since I last saw her, and I'm not really sure if it is her, but if it is this one mare my friends and I are looking for, you must be the one who kills her."_

"_Not quite understood, but understood more or less."_

"Fluttershy! I thought you had work?"

The shy little pegasus pawed at the ground, blushing in her black jeans and red tank top.

"Well, I thought that it would be nice if I paid you a visit, since the photo shoot finished earlier than expected…"

Twilight looked over at Moon…wait…was that _admiration_ on the mysterious alicorn's face?

"Are you…Fluttershy?"

'Why…y…yes. And you are…?"

"My name is Moon…and…uh…I'm a really big fan. Could you sign my copy of _Equestria Girls_? I _loved_ your_ Pasture Of Eden_ photo series."

"Oh! Sure…"

Fluttershy raised her head to look straight at the alicorn, and her face fell.

"Moon? Oh, alright! Moon! Here's my autograph…"

By this time, a small crowd had gathered around the rising star and what was a company of three became what looked like a minor stampede.

"Miss Fluttershy, would it be alright if I took a picture with you?"

"Touch my hoof! Touch my hoof!"

"Please! Sign my shirt!"

"AAH!" At this, the crowd went silent.

"S…somepony touched my flank!"

A very flustered Luna appeared from behind the model, blushing as furiously as the subject of her adulation was a few moments ago.

"Ah…That's an outrage! I'll…uh…find this criminal and apprehend her! I mean him! Yes, that's right…"

By this time, most of the crowd had dispersed, not wanting for the blame to be pushed onto them.

"Well…T…Twilight, it's been fun. I guess I'll…see you around…then."

Fluttershy hesitated for a moment, and then leaned in and gave her marefriend a light peck on the cheek.

Twilight and Moon watched her fly away, lollipops forgotten and hovering besides them, for different reasons.

"Well, I suppose that's it. I have business in the main building I almost forgot. You're one lucky filly, Twilight."

Ten seconds after they parted ways in opposite directions, Twilight was already dialing Fluttershy's number at light speed into her phone, what she didn't expect was hearing Fluttershy's ringtone exactly five seconds later in the opposite direction.

"_Nagereru toki no naka matataku, setsuna deki kirameki o…" _It was a Dragonese song, one of Fluttershy's favorites. The thing was, it was currently playing at full blast from Moon's general direction.

The phone dangled in the air from the charm bracelet that was looped around the device, in front of Moon.

"_That scheming little…! She took it!"_

"Congratulations, Twilight. You're now ten percent, and Miss Fluttershy is now under arrest on fifty percent suspicion of being the second Kira."

_A Day Later_

An uncomfortable air settled about the room where the Commanders crowded, for the third time, around a one-way glass panel that revealed Fluttershy, bound and gagged, unable to even move, see or speak. The only slight motion she could make was a slight nod, and a slight shaking of her head. She had kept silent the whole time,

"Please, dear," Fleur coaxed. "It really hurts us to see you suffer. Twilight isn't here, by the way. She refused to see you like this, so can you please talk?"

She shook her head.

"Fluttershy, you can have anything you want once you tell us who Kira is! I have pies, pastries, tarts, blancmange-"

"Not helping, Pinkie."

"Sorry."

The Commanders would probably be less persistent with their questions if they saw the massive alicorn behind their captive, his face like the uneasy calm before a great storm.

"_Fluttershy. Listen to me, you mustn't suffer like this. If you are willing to relinquish your possession of the book, although you will lose all memory of your own Note, you will always love Twilight Sparkle. You will forever remember your encounter as a romantic night where the both of you expressed your love for each other in mind, body and spirit. And I will always stay by your side, no matter what till this is all over."_

Fluttershy nodded, a pristine tear sliding down her cheek. Sephiroth gently stroked her forehead, wiping away a few stray beads of cold sweat, and she slumped forwards by an inch, unconscious.

With a powerful takeoff that the yellow pegasus could no longer hear, he flew straight through several solid walls of concrete before finally landing on the floor Twilight was pacing up and down upon in a blizzard of black feathers.

"_Twilight Sparkle. I suppose you have a plan for my contract holder's escape?"_

Twilight stopped pacing and looked the Death God in the eye.

"I do. Teleport me to the Everfree Forest."

The forest was overgrown and covered in a thick mist, but it made the setting all the more perfect for the execution of Twilight's clever plan.

"Celestia, I am about to get myself locked up as well. Write a fake rule in the book saying that if somepony doesn't write in the Note for thirteen days, they die. Sephiroth, give me control of the note that reads Angeal."

The two Death Gods listened to her instructions, and did as they were told.

"Now, I'm about to give control of this back to you, Sephiroth, but my memories will remain because I still own my own Note, is that right?"

"_Yes, that is correct."_

"Good. Now, Sephiroth, drop the book on the earth and let it be part of the mortal realm again. Then bring it to somepony who will kill for profit, and tell him or her to kill criminals as well. Celestia, when I get locked up, when I want to give up possession of my own Deathnote, I will ask you to get rid of it, and then you will do so, _no questions asked_. However, when I lose my memory, since I once owned both books, I will get my memory of all the Notes just by touching either one, correct?"

"_I see, Miss Sparkle. When you lose your memory, naturally you will want to hunt down Kira, correct? Therefore when you find and capture the current Kira and the police find his Note, the thirteen day rule will prove your innocence, and not only that, the investigation team will be able to see me, and so they will instigate you to touch the Note, regaining all of your memories."_

_Thee Hours Later_

"Moon, I want you to lock me up. I have a theory that I may be Kira subconsciously, so lock me up for a month and see if anything happens. Whatever I say, do or plead with you to let me out, do not do so until my thirty days are over."

Moon looked up from her piece of spinach and feta quiche.

"I see. Just another update on Miss Fluttershy, by the way, she's been acting very strange lately. She's been calling your name and crying, and she thinks she's been abducted by a stalker."

"Hello? Mr. Stalker? I have…to go…to the washroom, is that…alright?"

Rainbow Dash took the microphone angrily.

"This is the third time in the past hour! What's wrong with your bladder?"

Fluttershy squealed, and shivered.

"You…you…can watch, I'm fine with it. That's…that's…what you want, right?"

Dash facehooved, while her phone rang.

"Yes, this is Dash...Oh, you want the Commander? I believe he's on his way up to see you."

"Moon, what is the meaning of this?"

Moon shrugged, and pointed at Twilight.

"Forgive me, it was her idea. She wants to prove her innocence as Kira, so…"

"I want to be locked up too," Savage demanded.

"If my daughter has to suffer, we'll suffer together. Besides, I do not want my judgment to affect this case."

_Five Days Later_

"Moon, Kira's killings have completely stopped."

The alicorn mare stopped using her computer and swiveled around in her chair.

"I see. I'm afraid that just points to Twilight being guilty. But it's only the fifth day, have some hope."

The family sat across from each other across the table, although the distance between them was merely less than a meter apart, in reality they were just cruel-minded businessmen and businesswomen, each for his or her own.

"Ah'm telling yer, Gramma, we should get a'rid of that CEO of Next Fashion. Their market sales, it's scary, I tell ya."

"SILENCE, you little varmint! Yer be next if yer don't know how to shut it, Apple Cobbler!"

"Calm down, Granny. You don't wanna ta bust another vein, do ya?"

The elderly mare in the black dress hacked and coughed, her fragile frame agitated by her temper tantrum.

"Yer always know how ta push her but'ns, don't ya, Applejack?" The smartly dressed lady executive in the ponytail smiled.

"Of course, Golden Delicious. Big Mac, do ya agree to Cobbler's _reeediculous _proposition?" She turned to her older brother, the muscular colt in the fedora and suit, chewing a sprig of wheat.

"Nope."

"Well, that's settled, then. Now, ladies and gentlecolts, who shall we have Kira kill?"

Genesis Rhapsodos roamed the starless skies of the Nothingness on his single wing, as he pondered his next move.

"_I can't scry her, I can't find her and I can't see nor hear her. How am I going to kill her and bring her back? She could be anypony!"_

Landing next to the Pool, he stuck his head in, attempting to contact Sephiroth. The liquid roiled and bubbled, but no image appeared to him.

"_He must be busy,"_ he thought. Leaping into the great darkness of the eternal night, he began his long flight to nowhere in particular.

Genesis remembered the day when he had lost two of his closest friends, and now he was on the verge of committing suicide if he could. Now, the Nothingness was literally…nothing, with nopony to talk to or nopony to play games or read poems with. The Death King's Palace was several hours of flight away, and even so it wasn't guaranteed that he'd be granted an audience with the King. The other Death Gods were extremely territorial, so the likelihood of him being shot down while flying close would be undesirably high.

Coughing out a high-flying cloud of sand that had somehow found its way down his windpipe, he reflected on his actions so many years ago…

_Flashback_

"_I'm going to the mortal realm. I want to see with my very own eyes how Equestria has changed for the past thousand years."_

_The two Death Gods were crouched around the Pool, gnawing on the tasteless blue apples that grew in the Nothingness._

"_Really?" Genesis said. "It's dangerous, and you'll be gone for several tens of years. Sephiroth has this humungous crush on you, and it would devastate him to no end. Not as if that's a bad thing, but I can't imagine him gloomier than he is now." He put his single wing around his companion's shoulders to keep her warm._

_The female God sitting next to him laughed, and reclined against the wing. "I kissed him once, Gen, because he was being so sweet to me. Personally I can't be bothered by romance, but I admit I'll miss you all…"_

"_How about your sister? Surely you plan to tell her?"_

"_Tia? No, she just picked up an extra notebook from this Death God who just died. Now she has two, just like how Sephiroth took Angeal's."_

_Genesis groaned._

"_Can we not talk about him?"_

_The female God's face fell._

"_Right, I'm sorry. My point is, she's going to go treasure-hunting down there herself, just not as a mortal, and not really for the kind of treasure I'm looking for. I want to experience firsthand what it's like to be able to love. Maybe it's possible to love Sephiroth back if I do this." _

_Genesis finished his apple, and threw the core into the Pool, where it danced along the surface of the magical silvery energy and was then thrown across the ceiling of the world. The other Death God giggled, and turned to Genesis._

"_I'll miss you doing that."_

_Genesis bit his lip in frustration, and kicked a rock into the Seeing-Pool, watching it disappear amidst the black dunes of sand in the far reaches of the endless expanse of black silk that was the Nothingness's sky._

"_Is there anything I can do to stop you from taking this foolish course of action?"_

_The other Death God lifted her hoof into the sky, and a bright full moon appeared, larger than it should have ever been. _

"_A parting gift, if you will. Will you read me Loveless one last time?"_

_As Genesis read the epic poem, his friend leaned on his wing, enjoying the opalescent resplendence of the moon._

"…_And therefore, I pledge myself to the land, the seas, the skies…"_

"_I offer you this silent sacrifice," the female God finished._

"_I'm going to miss you very much, you troublesome little filly."_

"_And I you."_

_Standing up, Genesis watched as the mare waved her hoof over the Pool, revealing a building of red brick. It was raining heavily, and a small cardboard box lay next to the gates. _

"_Perfect. Genesis, hold on to my Note for me," She said, handing him a little black book, which the poet God lay next to the Pool. Gingerly, she stepped in and sunk right in to her waist."_

_Genesis held on to her hoof, the both of them crying silently._

"_Genesis, will you put me in that box?"_

_Genesis tearfully nodded, his shoulders jerking from his sobs._

"_I still don't know whether this is love or not, but I love you as a friend, Genesis. I love you very much."_

_Genesis let go of her hoof, and watched her fall into the silvery depths._

"_You've been my best friend for so very long. I love you too…"_

_He poised himself to dive in, clutching onto his Note tightly so he wouldn't be reborn as a mortal infant like his long-time friend and comrade. Watching the moon slowly wane and vanish, as he stepped into the Pool, there was only a single thought repeating itself throughout his head. _

"_I love you too…Luna."_

_Flashback End_

**A/N: AHA! Now you know what Luna really is. Gosh, it took me this long to figure out a viable explanation as to why Celestia's a Death God and Luna isn't. Think about it-if L was a Death God secretly, how different would things have been? School's gonna begin soon, and my updates will get slower too. SO, suggestions for the MELLO/NEAR arc are still open for discussion. Tell me what you like about what I've done so far, and think of who Mihael Keehl and Nate River are. Think: Who's the only Mane 6 character that hasn't appeared WHATSOEVER so far? The next chapter will be the final, extra long chapter that comprises of ALTERNATE ENDING 1 and all that awesome sh*t. Here's a sneak peek.**

**SNEAK PEEK FOR ALTERNATE ENDING 1: "Explain this to me, Genesis. Who exactly are you? Are you really the one who wrote Loveless? What are your-" She was silenced by a hoof pressed against her lips. "Shh," he chided. "I believe these are questions I can answer you at any time," he said, shaking his head. "But I think there's somepony you have to meet. She's somepony that you've met before, but then again she's somepony that you've never met." His gaze became rather faraway as he prompted the unicorn mare to get on his back. "Her name is Princess…READ ON TO FIND OUT! **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, I know it's been ages since I last updated. Ugh. School. Self-explanatory. Ugh. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7: Paint And Taint **

"_It's…the same thing again. Where…where am I?"_

_The walls were coated with a ghastly layer of blood and little cracks and scratches, as if a mighty scuffle had broken out. The room would have been cosy and comfy, if not for the horrid mess. Several cracked photo frames lay discarded on a pink furry rug, next to the queen-sized bed with covers as crimson as the vile substance that drove tracks of rusty brown across the dilapidated tapestries that hung around the bedchamber._

_A tiara, ornate and enchantingly familiar, lay broken at her hooves, the central gem's heart cracked through, the miniscule fissures suddenly painfully obvious._

"_Do you like what you see?"_

_Luna raised her head to look at the voice. On the bed, she saw…herself. But that other her was different than what she was now. Her mane was long and flowing and glittered with miniature stars, and she was thinner, almost emaciated. Her voice was a lusty purr as she floated off the stained bed to rest next to Luna, and she rubbed her cheek against hers._

"_I missed you."_

"_Who are you?"_

_The other Luna wrapped her forelegs around Luna's shoulders, and pressed her lips against her forehead._

"_I am you."_

_For some reason, Luna didn't back away or lash out with her magic at the image of her older self as the second Luna kissed and licked her way down till their lips met; she didn't flinch or bite down when her clone forced her lips apart gently with her tongue, massaging her lower lip playfully as she stroked her mane with her hoof._

_It wasn't because she liked it, but rather because she had this sense of blind hopelessness, this untold knowledge that she couldn't stop this doppelganger no matter how hard she tried._

_She was invincible._

_The older Luna pulled away, and leading her younger lookalike by the hoof, they reached the bed, where, as if in a trance, as if she knew what to do, Luna took off her shirt and unbuttoned her trousers and lay down. The other Luna looked pleased, and took a seat at the head of the bed, cradling Luna's head in her lap, cooing softly to her as she braided her luscious mane with magic. _

"_If I let you do what you want, will you tell me…?" _

_Older Luna just smiled, and pulled Luna up by her forelegs so that she was now sitting in her lap. Leaning in, Older Luna proceeded to bite and nip at Luna's neck softly at first, but soon, voraciously and passionately as she forced her younger self facedown on the sheets. Luna smelled copper and ammonia as she felt her tail being lifted up and a hoof vigorously applied to the most sensitive and private area of her adolescent body._

_Now, Luna could feel all this, and despite her strong want to know her bearings, was succumbing to the sheer and carnal pleasure of being touched in all the right places._

"_Ngh…P…please! Wh…Ah! Where…am…I? Uhn…Don't…"_

_Luna cried out in ecstasy, and panting and gasping, she sat upon her haunches, and threw herself at Older Luna, and they locked lips for a good, long time, however when they pulled away, Older Luna looked slightly disappointed, and she looked away._

"_You lose. Better luck next time."_

_Tears stung Luna's eyes._

"_I don't even know…your…"_

"_I'm you…"_

"_LIAR!"_

_As childish as that statement was, Luna knew it to be true. She knew that that could never be her. The sunken cheekbones, the hollow, throaty voice, the smile so fragile and yet so evilly content, like-_

_Older Luna tilted her head to the side._

"_My name-"_

"AH!"

Luna violently kicked the sheets off of her, and ran her hooves all over her body, glad to see that her clothes were still on. Groaning when she noticed the current state of her undergarments, she took them off and hurled them across the room.

She had been having these dreams for a month now, come to think of it, ever since…no…ever since she had begun investigating the case.

"Milady? Is everything alright?"

Blue ducked as a pencil was thrown at him, and closed the door just a little.

"Go away," She sniffed. "I don't want you to see me like this."

Blue sighed, and entered the room, dodging yet again another pencil.

"Bad dream, Milady?"

Luna was covered up to her neck in her duvet again, and pointed to the bundle of clothes in the corner of the room.

"Dream was a little _too_ good."

Blue picked up the dirtied clothing, and tucked his mistress in properly. Luna shied away a little from his hoof, still a bit wary of her surroundings. That experience had been so real.

"Would you like a new set of trousers?"

"No, I think I'll go half-naked tonight."

"As you wish, Milady."

As Blue closed the door behind him, Luna came out from under the covers again. Sitting upright, she stared, long and hard, at the sticky mess between her legs. Gingerly, she pressed a hoof against it, and immediately after the brief spike of pleasure, a torrent of self-loathing and anger set in, and utterly disgusted with herself, she flopped onto her side and settled into a troubled and uneasy slumber, rife with doubts and confusion.

Twilight wasn't having an exactly pleasant night, either.

She tossed and turned on the infinitesimally thin mattress, and though Moon had offered to make her surroundings more comfortable, she had gallantly refused. She was allotted a small table in the corner of the cell, where, after getting off and giving her bed a frustrated kick, she attempted to pass the time by counting the hypnotizing whorls of wood embedded in the piece of furniture made by nature's grand design.

Celestia didn't make things much easier for her. She had been pleasant enough for the previous twenty days, but now she was starting to get a little testy. Due to her inherent obsession with her contractor, she had, thankfully, stayed by her side, however she had begun to display several little verbal tics that the Death God attributed to hunger.

"_Twiiiillliiiight." _

"What?" She said out of the corner of her mouth. Moon had several bugs implanted in her room, along with three cameras. Of course, she had given the mysterious blue pony her word that she would not tamper with them.

"_I'm huuuuungry, Twilight…"_

"Then go eat something," Twilight snapped irritably. She threw a piece of stone at the white alicorn, which phased right through her and hit her guard, who was fitfully dozing on his shift.

"_What an ugly being…"_ Twilight thought.

His eye twitched. Twilight held her breath.

It snapped open, bloodshot.

It was dark, but Twilight saw enough to affirm her guard was enraged.

Then the phone rang. Like a scythe cleaving through margarine, the sound, alien and unsettling to Twilight after so many days, so many unending hours of silence upon silence, except for Celestia's odd monologue, all of which were every bit as bad as the very idea sounded, pierced her ears.

For a moment, nopony moved. Then the guard, keeping his eye on Twilight, held the phone to his ear. Pressing the loudspeaker button hesitantly, he beckoned Twilight to come closer to the bars.

The voice was garbled and fuzzy, but it was unmistakably Moon.

"Twilight, I'm releasing you, your father and Fluttershy from custody. There will be a car waiting for you outside. As for the reason why I'm letting you out prematurely, well…you'll find out soon enough. That will be all."

Jostled and hoofcuffs removed, Twilight was literally thrown out of the prison. She sighed as the wards preventing her from using magic in the prison faded away.

She winced as the luminescence from the bright streetlights hit her right smack in the face, and her eyes struggled to adjust, casting a ghostly aura upon everything in her line of sight.

She saw the car outside the station, and realized it was her father's. She tumbled in upon opening the door, and found her head in Fluttershy's lap. She didn't seem too happy to see her, though. She had a mortified expression on her face, and Twilight's stomach twisted just like it had when Moon had first realized Kira's plans on national television. Fluttershy was bound and gagged, and her father instantly sped off, dodging traffic deftly as he went.

He had that unreadable expression he only wore when he was apprehending the most heinous of criminals, and the muscles on his arms rippled and clenched as he drove.

Twilight tried to talk to him; she was ignored completely.

After several blades of fear and confusion had completely sunk into Twilight's heart, he spoke, quietly at first, then with an unrivaled rage only the Dragons could be capable of producing.

"I'm disappointed in you, to make a gross understatement. I would never think…my own daughter…would be a murderer."

Twilight stifled a scream. Had Moon figured her plan out? If she had, why let her out of prison?

"No…no! I'M NOT KIRA! I'M NOT! PLEASE…PLEASE!"

"It's too late to confess or repent. I'm sending you to your execution grounds."

Her pupils dilated a little.

"Wh…wha?"

"Moon authorized it. I wouldn't put it past her to pull this off."

"Please, don't-"

"Shut up. You disgust me, Kira."

Fluttershy squalled and whimpered through her gag. Alarming amounts of tear tracks scarred her delicate visage, even as she began weeping anew.

The streetlights sped by in bands of discolored, jaundiced ribbons, the cars on the road blurry phantoms as Twilight flitted between consciousness and the void.

Before she had known it, they had stopped at an isolated patch of grass beneath a bridge. The sun was rising, and it stained the world crimson, just like how her blood would the ground in a minute or two.

Without hesitation, Savage pulled out a small revolver from the folds of his jacket, and aimed it at Fluttershy. The black metal glinted in the sunrise, the interior of the barrel seemed to go on for miles.

"NO! LET ME DIE FIRST!"

Twilight's concern for Fluttershy only just, just meant a little more than the fact that her careful planning would go to waste if she perished. Even if she managed to defeat and kill her father, a thought that she instantly pushed away to the darkest recesses of her mind, the pegasus would be helpless without her wings.

She realized that she had been frozen in fear the entire journey, and if she had acted a little hastier, she could have saved them both. That was her second biggest regret.

"_I'm going to die…without…without achieving what I'd set out to do in the first place. This world…this world will continue to fester and rot and burn, and there's nothing that can be done about it. I instructed Sephiroth to give the second Note to somepony ruthless, somepony that would kill for power. They won't… they won't help me…."_

Tears, hot and fiery then instantly cooling on her face, splashed forth.

"_All I ever wanted was a world without tears."_

Savage aimed the weapon at Fluttershy.

Twilight instantly threw up a barrier, but a glancing blow off the side of her head made her lose concentration and drop the guard.

"_He…hit me."_

There was the bang and the splatter, and Twilight looked away, staring straight at the sunrise. Celestia materialized, and Twilight realized she was crying too, thick, wet opals twice the size of hers falling and disappearing before they could mingle with the crystal dew coalescing on the grass outside the car.

As the weapon was aimed at her forehead, she yelled. It was her last hope.

"GET RID OF IT!"

"I'm sorry, my daughter. I love you."

But Twilight wasn't talking to Savage.

Celestia shivered.

"_But you'll lose all your memories if you survive-"_

"_I'M ABOUT TO GET SHOT IN THE HEAD, GET FUCKING RID OF THAT DAMN THING!"_

As her wish was granted, the Note became immaterial once again and fell through her bag, just like it had fallen past Twilight's school window aeons ago, when Twilight still knew something akin to honesty and love. Through the car onto the earth below, the book fell. Hopefully, Twilight wished she would find an heir. A pony worthy of the pseudonym _Kira_.

A sound, like a single unit of raucous applause and a smell like acrid sulfur filled the air, Savage roared and then everything was silken and dark and quiet.

Sephiroth stood vigilant as his contractor began to write.

"So ah just copy out this here list?"

"_Yes, that is correct."_

The room was empty except for a wall filled with screens, each depicting a different news channel, and a long table with an office-style swivel recliner.

"So ah do this, and then ah can kill whoever I want, right?"

It was something about the way Applejack said the word "kill" that unsettled even Sephiroth. He didn't know whether it was the way she rolled the one syllable around her tongue, relishing it for what it was, or her complete disregard for sentient life.

"_Master, you may want to limit your killings to prevent suspicion."_

Applejack laughed and closed the Deathnote with a snap that echoed around her office frigidly.

"Limit? Oh, believe meh when ah say, sugarcube, ah know what ah'm doing. Y'all just relax your pretty little head and stay mah nice invisible arm candy, alright?"

The Nothingness was a blasted, waste of perfectly good space. Well, technically since nothing actually existed in the aptly named _Nothingness_, it was out of the question, to, say, build a nice hotel or a house to live in. Just sand, sand and more sand.

Genesis swore he was going crazy with nopony to talk to. Repeatedly muttering lines of _Loveless _under your breath only got you THAT far. He reckoned he had done so for a month, while in fact, only seventy-two mortal hours had passed.

"Genesis."

He almost squealed with happiness. Composing himself, and turning around to face the single entity that hadn't tried to maul or capture him in the past three days, he whipped around to see an old friend.

"Well, if it isn't the infamous heretic. What can I do for you, Syl?"

"Nothing more than presenting myself with some form of contact. Still poring over your poems, Genesis? A leopard never changes his spots, unless…he buys some of my latest invention, Syl's instant spot remover! Only four dollars and ninety-nine cents if you order now, and if you do, you get another free! Warning: Use may induce loss of genital use and death."

"Did you really-"

"If you're asking about that wall in the castle that swears every time you walk past it, then I can solemnly tell you that I had no intention of doing that. I brought it to life, the wall taught itself. Nurture, not nature." He unbuttoned his lab coat, and let it fly.

"No, I wasn't-"

"Also, you know, I'm getting very frustrated. You know I've been trying to kill Chuck Norris for ages, right?"

"Who-"

Sylphaeus gasped. "You don't know Chuck Norris? He's the stallion among stallions, that's who he is!"

"And you're trying to kill him…why?"

"Because he can't be killed. He's invincible. Ugh. He's such a nut. A Nut Bar, I'd go so far as to say. A bona fide Nut Bar. Nut Bars- Nature's Power Source. Order now, and get a free bottle of Syl's instant spot remover! WHEE!"

"I'm lonely and sad."

Syl's expression hardened.

"Why? Is this world turning out to be a sour apple?"

Genesis bit into a dry blue apple he had kept relatively warm in his beloved cloak.

"Syl, all the apples here are sour apples."

Syl nodded.

"I get what you mean."

He turned on his heel, and jumped, spreading both his lavender wings.

"Oh, come on, you're leaving already?"

Syl sighed.

"Places to see, leopards to kill. Incidentally, remember that one friend you had, the one with the funny black hair?"

Genesis bit his lip.

"Yes." He said curtly. Any mention of Angeal at all was immeasurably painful.

"I don't know whether this is good news or whether it spells your inevitable doom, but as far as he's concerned, he's not as dead as you might think."

And before the poet could wrest an answer from the mad scientist, Sylphaeus leaped up and promptly vanished into the perennial night.

Twilight awoke with a gasp and a throbbing pain ravaging her forehead. It was a big room with a bed, which she was splayed at an awkward angle on, and a dinner table to her right. Delicious pastries and sweets of all flavors and every hue of the rainbow were set upon it. The curtains were pristine white, as was the carpeted floor. Sunlight streamed in through the window and cracks in the door, made of the same heavy ashen wood the rest of the furniture in the room was constructed of.

"Am I in heaven…?" She thought aloud.

She went silent. There was a sound persisting throughout the room.

It sounded like…chewing and swallowing.

Moon's head poked out from behind a ludicrously large cake.

"Good morning, Twilight. Before you fly into a rage and assault me, let me explain why I did what I did."

A paralyzing spell enveloped Twilight as she lunged at the detective, fatigue gone and headache worsened. She crumpled into a disheveled heap on the floor, eyes burning with a profound mixture of relief and anger.

"Now, what I did was because I just had to make sure you weren't Kira. In the given situation, I'm sure Kira, with his large ego, would attempt a last-ditch effort. He did not. You did not. And hence I can say with…ninety-eight percent certainty that you are not Kira."

She took a bite of cake.

"Also, Kira has begun killing again. This puzzles me…therefore, I need your help to unmask this criminal."

Surprisingly, the spell had allowed her to speak.

"You lying…cheating…blue-maned little whore…" Twilight followed with a series of increasingly colorful oaths and swears she had unfortunately learned from her male classmates. After her rant, she fell silent, panting. Moon looked at her with silent amusement tinged with incredulity at the young mare's vulgarity.

"But…what about the gun…the blood…"

"Gun? It was a stage prop." To reiterate her point, Moon took out the revolver that had "killed" both Twilight and Fluttershy and shot herself in the gut. The blast came, and a splatter of dye.

"But how did I get knocked out?"

"In the first two bullets in the gun there was a potent skin-absorbent sedative."

The spell released its hold on Twilight, and she landed painfully on her tail.

"Here," Moon said, getting up and lifting Twilight off the floor onto the bed with her magic, showing no discernible sign of effort.

"You should eat something," Moon continued, spooning a mouthful of whatever she had on her plate straight into Twilight's mouth. Twilight's first move would be to spit it back right out at her, but the morsel was crumbly and decadently sweet with a hint of brandy and the unicorn realized how hungry she was, and chewed reluctantly.

"Good, isn't it?"

Twilight ate sullenly.

"Did you make this?"

It was a question seemingly unrelated to the enormity of the situation at hand. It was slightly juvenile and a more than a smidge silly and on the cusp of cute, however Moon entertained it all the same, as if she and Twilight, just for that little moment in that sunlit room, were nothing else but simple friends making up after a squabble.

"Unfortunately not. No, no, don't feed yourself," She exclaimed as Twilight attempted to wrest control of the floating plate and cutlery. "That experience caused considerable shock to your emotions, and your magic is likely to reflect that even now. It wouldn't be very conducive to have half my face to be blown off by a cake grenade."

Twilight laughed hoarsely at that.

So, they sat, on the bed, doing nothing but enjoying a meal. The tense air loosened its phantom hold on Twilight's heart, now unencumbered and pure again by her memories of being Kira and the Deathnote, all that was left was hatred for the individual that was currently killing innocent ponies and had almost cost her life.

The thick, slightly mildewed air now filled with a chorus of gentle, tender phrases uttered in dulcet tones.

"Open wide."

"Mmm."

The door burst open.

Fluttershy appeared in a flurry of feathers, dragging a very bedraggled Rainbow Dash behind her.

"Twi! Oh, Twi, I thought you were hurt…Twi…Give me that! I'll feed her! You've already caused us enough suffering!"

More than a little surprised by Fluttershy's outburst, Moon took a step back and watched the yellow pegasus fuss about Twilight as if she were a wounded animal, combing her hair and feeding her dessert quicker than the unicorn could swallow.

"Fluttershy…"

"Yes, my dear?"

"Do you…"

Twilight had the distinct feeling that she was forgetting something very important that she had ought to be doing, but it was as if she had a void in her that was…was once…filled with something…special. But what would that be?

"Yes?"

"No…it's really nothing, I guess."

"If there's something bothering you, say it! I mean…if you want to…" Fluttershy said, gradually regressing back to her more timid nature.

"I'm sorry; could you leave the two of us alone, please?" Twilight requested. "I'd like to be alone with Fluttershy for a while."

As Moon and Dash exited, Fluttershy exhaled audibly.

"I was so afraid."

"So was I."

They looked around the room, listlessly looking for a way to pass the time.

Twilight reclined on the bed.

"So…what do you want to do now?"

The purple unicorn's eyelids fluttered and drooped.

"Sleep."

Moon led Rainbow Dash into the other bedroom where the other Commanders and Blue were gathered. Savage stood up immediately.

"How is my daughter? May I see her now?"

Moon shook her head.

"She is resting. Leave her be."

Was it just him, or did Moon sound a little more weary than usual? He sat back down and buried his head in his sizeable hands.

"This was a stupid idea. You and your cautiousness are going to kill us all one day."

Moon groaned silently.

Fleur spoke up for the alicorn, staunchly ignoring the growing disdain on Savage's features.

"Please…she was only trying to help you…you and your daughter. Think about it. Due to your high standing, don't you think Kira would have killed you already if not for Moon's protection? You're the head Commander of the entire Force, and here you are acting like a child-"

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW? Do _you_ have a daughter? I have two children, _Commander_ Fleur, and I'd appreciate it if you showed some respect-"

"Respect? Look at the way you were talking to Moon!"

"She's just a kid-"

Moon, apparently, had quite enough at that point, and opted to resolve this in the best way she knew. As she had learned with the troublesome bullies at the orphanage, if candy doesn't work, yell.

"QUIET! ALL OF YOU, _SHUT UP!_"

Two of the three teacups on the table shattered.

"Whoops."

She groaned, more audibly this time.

"You…have a right to be upset. I admit, it wasn't the kindest of gestures, but it had to be done. I seek your understanding on that much. And by the way, Commander Savage, I am an alicorn. I'm a lot older and stronger than I look. But, being a Dragon yourself…you are definitely my senior by about…twenty years? Therefore, if I have disrespected you in any way, I apologise."

She bowed her head, and Savage looked away, ashamed. She was right. She was much more than a child, and it was wrong and childish of him to say so.

"Moon, you look terrible! Are you getting enough sleep, dear?"

So it wasn't just him. Moon did look thinner and if possible, more sleep-deprived than usual.

"Thank you, Fleur, I'll be just fine. Nothing a little coffee and sugar can't fix."

Blue reached for the kettle, but Moon waved him away dismissively.

"No…not now, Blue. Though I appreciate the thought, such pleasures are not to be allowed to me for now." Moon reached for the table, which a bowl of candy rested upon. Picking up one, she observed it for a moment, and groaned, throwing it back into the bowl.

"Then what are you going to do, Moon? I know! I'll sing you a song-"

"Not now, Pinkie."

"Sorry, Dash."

Moon sank into an armchair, stretching out her limbs, contorting them in ways that shocked even the Commanders.

Finally she spoke, her hind leg snugly tucked behind her head.

"We'll be moving to a new permanent location soon, I suppose."

"You suppose? What does that mean?"

Moon stared at Savage.

"Well, it means we get a move on if we don't catch Kira by the time I return from this flight."

Moon let her leg fall loose, and to her dismay, smashed the last teacup, the cold tea that Savage had left forgotten.

Everypony in the room winced.

She smacked her lips thoughtfully three times.

"Whoops."

She shakily walked towards the nearest exit, and drew the curtains.

"Are you sure you're okay? What are you-?"

The dark shadows beneath the young alicorn's ageless eyes were thrown into relief as the light struck her profile.

"I'm going to jump out this window."

And with a small, tired smile, she fell backwards through the opened window and in a matter of seconds, spread her wings, ripping through the sides of her shirt and she soared, higher than ever before, her graceful poise eclipsing the foreboding thunderheads heralding the much-needed afternoon shower.

"_Scry Luna."_

Nothing.

"_Scry Luna."_

Nothing.

"_SCRY. LUNA."_

Nothing happened.

"_Scry Celestia, then."_

"_**Hey! This is Celestia's answering machine! If you're trying to scry me, this is a really bad time. If I owe you something or if you're going to talk about Loveless, please don't bother calling back. Please scry me back in a few days or so, I'm sure I'll be sober by then. Bye!"**_

Genesis pulled his head out of the Pool.

"At least one of them has an answering machine."

He flapped his wing.

The magically augmented wind he made howled relentlessly around his ears. Again, he was overtaken by a sporadic fit of a longing, of a craving for companionship, missing his only friends more than ever.

"…"

"…Loveless is not a stupid play."

Luna continued to fly and fly, until she was far above the Kira Investigation Unit, far above the city lights, far above the pegasi lounging in the clouds, far above the storm. She left her emotions behind, and let her wings stop beating. Interestingly, she lay suspended in midair, her eyes perpendicular to the vast blue dome that was the sky.

There was color all around, color in the sky, color staining the clouds, color rushing to her cheeks as she whooped and yelled, diving and careening in joyous spirals and ecstatic somersaults, her tiredness and exhaustion lost to the wind, drifting away to nowhere.

She felt happy.

She felt _alive_.

She executed a sharp nosedive, followed by several barrel rolls finishing up with a triple backflip off a high-flying cloud. Then she tensed up. Streamlining her body, she started to fly faster than ever before. The wind slashed at her face, the cold threatening to freeze it off. But still she flew. And then, the moment she felt considerable resistance, she, with every muscle in her body, she pushed forwards, until she broke the sonic barrier. With a sound like a warhead detonating, light was split into its original seven colors as Luna painted her aerial easel the very colors of her bliss.

"Wow."

Startled and a little miffed that her private flying session had been intruded upon, Luna let Rainbow Dash sidle up next to her.

"That's the best flying I've seen since Soarin," She said, flying in excited circles around the alicorn.

"You _have _to…to…"

She stopped mid-sentence, choking and gasping.

"…Here."

The temperature around them suddenly rose by a few degrees, catching Rainbow off guard and causing her to fall about ten meters while attempting to adjust.

"What…"

"I replaced the area around us with a stream of air from about two thousand feet below. There's more oxygen, so you can breathe easy."

She fixated the blue pegasus with a piercing green eye.

"How come you can't breathe? I reckoned as a Commander, you would have a stronger tolerance for low oxygen levels."

"Soarin never let me train above two thousand meters. Never. He said it was for my own safety."

Dash looked away.

"At least I bet he's looking down at me from…I don't know…space or something, you know? From the big safety drill in the sky."

Luna tilted her head to the side, as she always did when she didn't completely understand or comprehend something.

"Listen, Rainbow…"

The pegasus turned to face her, valiantly biting back tears.

"I'm…" Luna couldn't make the words come out.

"I'm…not very good with people. But if there's anything at all that I can…um…teach you to make you feel better, I will."

Dash brightened up just a little.

"That last trick you did. It was beautiful."

"The Sonic Rainboom? That's…the best trick I know. It took me months to master it, and the first time I pulled it off I broke my wing and injured myself in places you don't want to see. Are you sure-"

Dash felt determination slide over her being, drying her eyes and straightening her stance.

"Soarin would have wanted me to."

Luna nodded, and mimicking what she had done in the hotel, easily slid her hind leg behind her head.

"Then please, stretch yourself out."

It was one of those moments that Twilight wished would never end. She had woken up from her nap, her head pressed between two pillows and Fluttershy's on her chest. The blankets her been kicked aside, and lay in disarray on the floor. The slits of sunlight that shone between the loosely drawn curtains were of lightest chartreuse, signaling that it would be sundown soon.

A hissing sound was thinly concealed by the tranquil silence, and Twilight realized it was raining.

"_Raining with golden sunlight…it must be gorgeous outside…"_

Blue must've been in the room, for the cakes and sweets had been taken away and the tablecloth changed. This annoyed Twilight a little; she could have used a snack.

She reached out for the clock next to her hotel bed and bumped into something warm.

It was a deliciously steaming decanter of coffee, with a note next to it. Taped to the little piece of paper were two glistening lollipops. Also, a shiny ruby-red apple was placed next to it all.

Floating the note over, which was written in stylish cursive, Twilight opened up one lollipop and sucked on it gratefully.

"_Get well soon. From Moon. " _, the note read. Wasn't this all her fault in the first place? What a silly filly. Scaring the crap out of her, then feeding her cake and offering her coffee.

Nonetheless, Twilight smiled, and she felt like she hadn't smiled like that in ages.

It was just getting dark before Dash and Moon had returned, and both Twilight and Fluttershy, refreshed and restored, sat at the long dinner table, doing the one activity everypony in the room was currently engrossed in-staring at the sorry state Moon and Dash had landed themselves in.

Rainbow Dash's right wing was bandaged in a hilariously slapdash way, complete with a little bow, by Pinkie Pie, who had insisted on doing it "For her bestest friend ever." Moon, on the other hoof, was wearing an eye patch, along with her right front hoof in a hastily scrapped-together cast.

"The healing spells will do their work tonight," Said Moon, who had cleverly asked Blue to fix her up while Pinkie was focusing her attentions on Dash.

"However Rainbow's going to be grounded, quite literally, for the next week or so. Muscles take ages to reconstruct, unlike bone."

Fleur shook her head.

"Just what were you trying to pull off again, dear? You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"Or worse," Moon added.

Twilight gigglesnorted suddenly, causing everypony to look.

"…Was that _that_ funny?"

"You look like a pirate, Moon."

The laughter was therapeutic to the two who, just a day ago, thought for sure that they were goners and the two who were temporarily handicapped. Moon laughed, for once, and when Twilight's laughter began to die down, Moon would pull a face and send her into hysteric spasms again.

They tucked into their meal, which was as usual wonderfully prepared and again, they were amazed at the bizarre amount of sugar Moon added to everything. When asked why, Moon said that what she was adding wasn't sugar, but a chemical ten times sweeter than the original deal.

"Really?"

Moon held out her spoon.

"Have a lick."

Savage's tongue touched a little mound of white powder on the edge of the utensil and recoiled.

"That's…disturbing."

"And more addictive than you can _imagine_," Blue proclaimed.

The wine was passed around, and in a few moments, everypony was as hale and merry as on Hearth's Warming Day. Twilight sang a duet with her father, Fluttershy hoof-wrestled with Dash and Moon recited lines from her personal copy of Loveless.

Fleur had declined the alcohol and went to sleep early, stating that she felt faint, leaving Pinkie to her devices and by extension, Dash. The pink pony had decided to make a game out of braiding Dash's hair in outlandish, and increasingly offensive styles, culminating in Dash trying, in her drunken state, to fly off the table, and with her single wing, ending up hovering awkwardly a few inches off the floor and then soundly crashing into a wall.

Luna, personally, had forgotten it all for now. The strange dreams, her guilt and her smarting injuries, and instead took it all in, the warmth of the nearby electric fireplace, the laughter and the happiness…it was like her seventh birthday at the orphanage. The strange pony in the leather coat had brought them a cake, and although she had begged him to adopt her, he had put her down the gentlest way he knew.

She remembered how her companions, the other orphans, greedily grabbed fistfuls of her cake, knocking over candles and scoffing icing. The young alicorn, regrettably, had almost none left for herself. But the stranger smiled, and gave her a lollipop.

"_There's a lot more in a box beneath your bed,"_ He had whispered in his pleasant, musical voice.

"_I don't want to alone anymore, please, I hate it here, I…"_ She was silenced with a small kiss on her developing, but still stumpy horn.

"_Shh. Not to be cliché, but we will meet again. I hope you find what you were looking for when you came here."_

And with that, Luna's passion for candy had been irrevocably ignited.

The last thing she remembered after dinner was falling backwards into Twilight's lap, staring up into her amethyst orbs, and closing her eyes, one word in mind. It was a word she didn't know the meaning of, a word pulled forth from the back of her head with all the sepia-tinged, bittersweet memories of her childhood, a word she had only seen in her book, the aged, well-loved copy of Loveless, her only connection to her real family. But somehow, in her drunken state, she just knew he had to be the one, he had to be her brother or father, or a cousin or an uncle or some relation.

The warmth seeped into her cheeks again, the euphoria tugging at the corners of her mouth.

She would not remember this word when she woke up, neither would she for a long time to come. But she remembered it then, and just a whisper, just a fleeting wisp of kindness and the taste of lollipops slid over her tongue again, making her mouth water.

"_Genesis."_

**A/N: And we're clear! Gosh, I thought I'd never get this done. Expect less of a hiatus between this chapter and the next. Writing Chapter 8 as I type this. I have motivation now. I'd better do something about it while it lasts. Get ready for BLOOBLUD in the next chapter. He isn't gonna be a douche. I swear. **

**Sneak Peek for Chapter 8: Twilight couldn't believe the incredulity of the situation. "Moon, is there a specific reason why you want to do this? This is ridiculous beyond verbal comprehension." Moon shrugged. 'My building, my rules. Now put the hoofcuffs on."**

"_**What's wrong? You've been staring at me for the past two minutes. Wait. Let me guess. You're upset because I'm the only one in the room eating cake, right? Here, have some."**_

_**-Detective L to Light Yagami, Deathnote.**_


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